Built for speed on 8hp

The wave-piercing Spypeedo (foreground) and the three-point Thresher finished second equal in the Massey University Bachelor of Design time trials. Picture / Geoff Green

A fleet of four extraordinary concept craft intrigued passers by when they were put through their paces off Takapuna Beach last weekend.

They were raced as part of a transport-concepts programme by third-year students enrolled in the Marine Transport Design option available within Massey University's Bachelor of Design degree. As part of their studies, the students were asked to design and build the fastest-possible craft powered by an 8hp outboard motor. Performance was evaluated by a 200m standing-start time trial and a fleet race around two laps of a triangular course.

Building the craft, pre-race tribulations and race-day performances created some surprises, many lessons and a great deal of practical experience for the 12 students who put a public face to the design course.

The Bachelor of Design degree has marine, aviation and automotive majors, and it was established at Massey's Albany campus in 2002, largely through the foresight and commitment of designer Bruce Woods.

He persuaded the university that the time was right to launch a sophisticated design course to back up New Zealand's international profile in boat design and boatbuilding.

His timing proved correct, and developments at the campus workshop have been keenly observed and supported by the marine industry.

Massey's Bachelor of Design degree is the only one in the world with a marine focus and it was formally acknowledged by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) 18 months ago.

The London-based RINA is represented in more than 90 countries and members are active at all levels within academia, industry and maritime organisations.

Woods says Massey's design course is the first to get formal RINA accreditation and the endorsement recognises the university's high standards.

"Recognition from the world's foremost marine design organisation is very important to the standing of the degree. It will give graduates an advantage when they are looking for employment," he says.

When they graduate most of the students expect to be involved with yacht and powerboat design, some will head for companies making products for the marine industry and others will focus on interior design and styling.

Whatever their choice, they will enter the workforce equipped with practical insights gained from building and racing their design projects, which they constructed in the campus workshop using composite materials and plywood.

Explora, a tri-hull planing design built by Christopher Wall, Martin Alexander and Phillip Maxwell won on the day with a top speed of just over 18.3 knots (33.8km/h), and a clear win in the fleet race which required two tight 315-degree turns and the ability to cope with spectator boat wakes.

Spypeedo, a wave-piercing displacement catamaran built by Jarrod Hall, Christopher Moors and David Michau, and Project Thresher, a three-point planning hull constructed by Benjamin James, Jeremy Tyson and Daniel Upperton, finished second equal overall, but not before the Project Thresher team implemented 11th-hour design changes to improve cornering stability.

The quick-to-plane and well-presented Aqua Skimmer showed good speed and had the potential to win overall, but Aaron Watt, Dmitri Ivanov and Edwin Chan retired from racing because their novel approach to steering the boat malfunctioned on race day.

For more information about the Marine Transport Design option within the Bachelor of Design course contact Massey University's School of Design on (09) 914 0800, or see www.massey.ac.nz.