The ever-evolving nature of the superyacht industry was the theme for this year’s Superyacht Design Symposium.
We took this opportunity to catch up with four key industry insiders and ask them what one change they would make to the industry, given the chance:
Ewa Eidsgaard of Eidsgaard Design said that a significant female presence was “the one change that has not been very present in the industry yet”.
“Maybe I would like to see more of it,” she continued. “It’s a very male dominated industry.” When asked about the likelihood of that changing in the near future, Ewa concluded: “I’m not necessarily sure about it, but I certainly hope so.”
For Andrew Winch, founder of Winch Design, the most desirable change relates to superyacht destinations. “I’d love to be able to sail in more places,” he revealed. “I wish there was more development of the yachting industry in China and Japan. It’s very locally focussed, the yacht industry.”
Meanwhile, Rose Damen of Amels explained that she is surprised that there aren’t more yards currently pursuing semi-custom yachts as a means of developing their offering and attracting time-sensitive clients.
Naval architect Bill Tripp summed up the rate of change within the industry by saying: “I think we are coming into some revolutionary changes — they’re coming extremely fast. Design is going to change itself and we’re either going to have to be a part of it or retire.”