The 27th edition of the DAME Design Award competition held on the occasion of the 2017 METSTRADE Show in Amsterdam saw a total of one hundred and twenty-two products entered from twenty-two countries. Among the sixty-four products shortlisted for final consideration, the Jury selected an Overall DAME Winner, seven outright Category Winners and sixteen Special Mentions.
Overall DAME Winner 2017
Scanstrut RS Venture Connect Conversion Kit
Deck equipment, sails and rigging
The Scanstrut Venture Connect Conversion Kit enables a standard RS sailing dinghy to be converted for disabled and parasailing. The revolutionary plug/play kit includes a battery/control pack, powered mainsheet winch, joystick control and sip-puff headset option. Fully self-contained, it allows a sailing instructor to easily convert the boat for disabled sailing in less than 30 minutes.
The Jury praised Scanstrut for delivering a well-designed and fully integrated solution with attention to every detail that will allow a broader range of disabled people to get on the water and enjoy the same benefits as others. There was universal agreement that the Connect Conversion Kit is the worthy winner of the DAME Award 2017.
Category winners
Simarine Nereide smart marine power panel
Marine electronics and marine related software
Simarine Nereide takes marine electrical distribution panels to another level. NEREIDE is easy to operate, complements the yacht’s interior instead of ruining it and provides the user with all the benefits of smartphone connectivity while preserving the reliability of analog panels. Optional multiple batteries & tanks monitoring and a digital pictogram, make it a truly unique solution.
It is notable that an electrical distribution panel should, after much debate, be named as the winner of this consistently strong and increasingly divergent category. SIMARINE’s NEREIDE was commended by the Jury for its nicely detailed facia, remote management over wifi via a tablet or smartphone and its emergency analogue overrides providing control in the event of digital system failure.
Besenzoni P400 Matrix
Interior equipment, furnishings, materials and electrical fittings used in cabins
Helm Chair with fabric upholstery made of Neoprene, equipped with adjustable headrest, armrest and automatic support to raise/lower the seat. Footrest manually adjustable and the VACUUM technology used to shape the seat and lumbar cushions of the user, ensuring a special comfort during the trip even in rough sea condition
Sitting in the P400 Matrix left no doubt that attention to the design of the seat and lumbar cushions, as well as the adjustable head, arm and foot rests, makes for an excellent helm chair suitable for long watches in the wheelhouse of a vessel moving at sea. The Jury members also appreciated the aesthetics of the chair, making it a popular choice of winner in this category.
Seabin
Marina equipment, boatyard equipment and boat construction tools and materials
The Seabin is an automated solution to capture floating waste down to 2mm. The V5 has been designed to be unobtrusive in Marinas, Ports, Yacht Clubs, etc. It runs with a robust water pump powering the Seabin at a rate of 25 000 litres/hour, with a running cost of $0.90 per day. Renewable energies may be used for its running. Each Seabin can collect ½ ton of waste per year.
Following an evolutionary development cycle, the Seabin V5 floating debris interception device entered production in 2017. It is designed to capture up to 1.5kg/day of floating debris per day in calm waters such as marina environments. The Jury liked the simple but well-conceived design and obvious attention to detail that is evident in the Seabin and welcomes anything that combats the growing problem of plastics and other rubbish in the water.
Zhik Isotak x extreme ocean sailing apparel
Clothing and crew accessories
Isotak X combines the following innovations to set the new standard in ocean sailing gear. 1. Versatility – Adaptive ™ Collar System 2. Performance – Hydrovision® Hood 3. Comfort and Durability – Reziseals 4. Safety – Biomotion
The Jury was immediately drawn to this coat thanks to its clever Adaptive Collar System, which provides for a series of different collars to be selected according to weather conditions and its Hydrovision hood, designed to improve face protection while providing greater visibility than the norm. This is an excellent example of how products we all take for granted can still be redesigned to provide a better user experience.
CrewWatcher by Weems & Plath
Lifesaving and safety equipment
CrewWatcher is a smart app-based MOB monitor and rescue system. Using a phone or tablet and a small beacon for each crew, it constantly checks if everyone is still onboard. Within seconds of a MOB or water immersion, the app automatically sounds the alarm and visually directs the rescuer. Fast, affordable, automatic, and simple to use even for children and pets. Faster response than AIS.
There are a rapidly growing number of lower cost personal location devices for manoverboard detection that combine a small worn or carried device with app-based monitoring. After much debate the Jury decided that the CrewWatcher should be the winner of this category in 2017, because of the particularly simple and intuitive user interface design of its smartphone app and the way in which it seemed easy to use, right out of the box.
Oceanvolt Servoprop
Machinery, propulsion, mechanical and electrical systems and fittings
The patented Oceanvolt Servoprop variable pitch saildrive combines a high efficiency saildrive with the most powerful hydro generator on the market. In addition to highly efficient propulsion & improved steerability the Servoprop can generate 1kW of energy at speeds of 6-8 knots. You can generate electricity for all energy usage on board – earlier only possible with a separate diesel generator.
As pure electric propulsion moves from novel concept to more widespread use, the Jury welcomes efforts to improve the efficiency of the installation. A problem for electric saildrives with conventional feathering props is that they cannot regenerate electricity under sail. Oceanvolt’s Servoprop overcomes the issue by providing variable pitch control. That improves propulsion and sail efficiency, but the prop can also be opened to provide up to 1kW of generated energy at 6-8 knots through the water. It was this specific feature for which the Jury assigned the Servoprop a category win over some other strong entries.
Special Mentions
In Marina equipment, boatyard equipment and boat construction tools and materials:
3D|CORE XPS DELTA
Mobile antifouling wastewater filtration system by CarenEcolo
BinoX by Tessilmare S.r.l.
In Interior equipment, furnishings, materials and electrical fittings used in cabins:
Surf Plate Rby B.C.M. Illuminazione
In Clothing and crew accessories:
INTEGRA by Blood Red Ltd
Ignite Drysuit – feat. Standby Mode by Ocean Rodeo Drysuits
In Marine electronics & marine related software:
DecklincGP by C Designs Ltd
Nomad Portable Class B AIS Transponder by Digital Yacht Ltd
M232 Marine Thermal Camera by Raymarine UK Ltd.
In Machinery, propulsion, mechanical and electrical systems and fittings:
Jefa Electric Steering System by Jefa Steering ApS
KB-Ecoline Hybrid by Kabola Heating Systems B.V.
In Lifesaving and safety equipment:
SmartFind G8 AIS by McMurdo
In Deck equipment, sails and rigging:
Ropeye U-Block by Ropeye
Bimini KanvasLight® by SNA Dodger & Cover Designs
GHOOK by SPINAKER d.o.o.
CAF-COMPO screw-stud by SUREFAS, next generation fasteners
