Start-ups with a winning design formula

Marine instruments ahead of their time

The first start-up company to take an overall DAME Design Awards win was Tacktick, in 2003, for its Micronet MN100R range of wireless wind, speed, depth, GPS and compass electronic displays and transducers. These fit anywhere instruments featured built-in batteries rechargeable by integrated solar panels or waterproof external power connections and were networked together by a proprietary low power wireless system developed by Tacktick. To provide context, in 2003 cables were still the norm for many things in life – WiFi was in its infancy and still a few years away from widespread adoption. Bluetooth was similarly in the initial stages of roll-out.

Tacktick, founded in 1996 by brothers Clive and Mark Johnson, made an early name for itself with its Micro Compass, which placed tactical sailing data onto the masts of many dinghies and smaller yachts. The company then developed Micronet. The key to the whole project was researching and creating a more efficient wireless protocol that was secure and much less power hungry than other options such as Bluetooth. 

Commenting at the time, the DAME Jury said: “an examination of the details of the technology employed across the full Micronet system — bespoke wireless communication methods, very low power consumption electronics and completely sealed cases and remote transducer transmitters — reveals a design approach that is disciplined to its brief, advanced and deserving of recognition. It was also recognised that Tacktick has applied serious design effort between prototype and production stages to bring this system to market as a strong and cohesive package.” The Jury also remarked positively about the Micronet instruments’ aesthetics – in summary it was a perfect DAME winner with evidence of design attention in every aspect, impressive for such a young company who had partnered with a university to develop the bespoke wireless platform. 

The author of this article was impressed enough he bought a set of Micronet instruments for his own boat in 2008 and they remain operational two decades on. Tacktick was acquired by Suunto in 2009 – who in turn sold it to Raymarine two years later. Micronet technology is still used within that company’s product line-up today.

Moving the e-propulsion agenda on

It would be fascinating to survey all exhibitors at Metstrade to see how many of them started their business in a garage at home. Such was the experience of Torqeedo founders Dr Christoph Ballin and Dr Friedrich Böbel in 2005. They completely rethought how an electric outboard should work and launched the Torqeedo Travel which took a DAME Awards category win in 2007. Ballin and Böbel realised they needed to do more than just offering a product that was sold on the virtue of swapping carbon fuel for electricity. They innovatively took the advantages of this power source to make a much more practical auxiliary power unit for tenders and small craft that performed brilliantly in the water and offered the comfort of range indication. It was also much easier to handle on and off a dinghy thanks to designing it with three easily assembled components – leg, tiller and battery.

Five years later Torqeedo then took the overall DAME Design Awards prize for its Deep Blue outboard. Given the high number of new e-propulsion launches in more recent times it is easy to forget the significance of Torqeedo’s move into larger boat markets with this 50kW motor and its associated integrated high voltage battery and controller systems. Contemporaries at the time had mostly assembled stock components to create electric derivatives of IC outboard motors. The German company’s effort was obviously designed from the ground up to match its intended purpose and the finished product posted a serious message that electric propulsion was growing up fast. The Jury praised the Deep Blue outboard as an exceptional example of groundbreaking research and development.

In 2016 Torqeedo was once again on the DAME Design Awards winner’s podium – this time for its Cruise FP pod drive, a space-saving sail drive replacement. The DAME Jury praised it for offering “performance and pricing equitable to conventional internal combustion engine powered saildrives,” and noted “its beautiful engineering, close attention to detail design, integrated approach, compact dimensions and market realistic price.”

By now Torqeedo had grown substantially from its start-up roots. It became a subsidiary of Deutz AG in 2017 and in 2024 was acquired by Yamaha Motor. The latest generations of all the products mentioned here continue in the Torqeedo range today.

Scientifically informed energy saving

Triskel Marine’s Metstrade launch product and ultimate success in the DAME Design Awards of 2018 owed much to a decade and half of careful research into the efficiency of marine hybrid power trains in their different configurations. This included company founder Ken Wittamore’s work with ICOMIA and other partners on the EU funded High Efficiency Hybrid Drive Trains for Small and Medium sized Marine Craft project (HYMAR) and then with Innovate UK and Pendennis on the High Efficiency Marine Energy (HEME) project.

Informed by this research and by experimentation, the Integrel system exploits the gap between the propeller curve and optimum efficiency of a propulsion engine, to generate power which is then stored for AC and DC use. This improves the efficiency of the fuel that is burned and avoids the need for a separate generator.

In 2022 the company, by now trading as Integrel Solutions, went on to claim a DAME Design Awards category win for its E-Drive unit which is installed between IC engines and their gearboxes to enhance or replace propulsive effort and generate power. Over those four years there was clear evidence of how the company was applying design disciplines to refine and expand its product range. Today the company continues to operate from its renewable energy park location in the UK and has a growing service, distribution and installation network.
Saving a life without risking one
Another product with a similarly long gestation period was the 2019 DAME Design Awards winner.  The U SAFE launched at Metstrade that year after nearly a decade of development and testing. It is a reinvention of the traditional life-saving ring that is auto-propelled and remote controlled. Featuring robust, understated design and uncomplicated operation, the U SAFE can be launched from boat or shore in line of site at speeds of up to 15kph, for a duration of 5.9km (3.2nm). The design incorporates completely flush jet drives and sensibly large rigid grab holds, as well as an easy-to-access u-shaped area to swim into. Mirror image design enables it to still work when flipped, cleverly addressing likely issues in operation. The U SAFE offers the promise of enhanced lifesaving options not only for casualties in the water, but also for rescuers. Its 13kg weight, robust construction and size means it can be deployed on larger leisure boats and superyachts as well as marinas and harbours.

U SAFE continues in production today.

Revisiting an old concept for new propulsion

While not strictly a DAME Design Awards overall winner, we cannot complete this article without mentioning French start-up Temo, who won our virtual DAME R&D Excellence in Adversity Award which was held in the 2020 pandemic shut-down year. Commenting on it at the time, Jury Chair Andre Hoek said: “The TEMO 450 is a new concept in electric outboards that none of the Jury members had never seen before. A lot of research and development work was involved. This outboard is modern yet hints at long-tail motors in Asia and sculling oars on the transoms of small dinghies. It's very special and we wish the company a lot of success with this unique product.”

The TEMO 450 was born of a frustration that founder Alexandre Seux had with IC engines being heavy and polluting when circumnavigating for two years on a 6.5m sailing boat. It took two years to get from idea to finished product, following extensive development in collaboration with the CIMTECH mechatronic design office in Rennes. You can read the full story of the TEMO 450’s development here. 

Despite the misfortunate timing of having to launch its first product in the middle of COVID lock-down, TEMO had early success with orders for the 450 and has gone on to grow its distribution outside of its initial home market to many countries around the world. 

Vital role of start-ups in exploring design boundaries

The examples in this article demonstrate how start-ups often push design boundaries and promote fresh approaches in a way that might be harder for established businesses to achieve. While their brand names may not initially be well known, often the products that start-ups bring to market have the benefit of years or even decades of accumulated ideas, research and experimentation.

For more than three decades now Metstrade and the DAME Design Awards competition have provided an essential platform for start-ups and new product launches. Countless new businesses create essential presence in the international marine leisure marketplace through exhibiting and participating.

In recent editions of the show new businesses have been further encouraged to establish roots within the global marine trade through the Startups Zones, run in conjunction with Yachting Ventures. In last year’s DAME Design Awards, four of the Startups Zones’ exhibitors achieved DAME Design Awards nominations with three of those achieving special mentions.

The DAME Design Awards

To learn more about the awards, please visit https://www.damedesignawards.com

What are your memories of the DAME Design Awards over the years?

For this special 35th anniversary year we are publishing a series of features in coming months looking at the winners – who they were, why they won and what they meant within the leisure marine sector. 

We would very much like to hear the memories of anyone involved with nominated and winning entries since 1991, particularly the overall winners. If you can help us, then please email dame@rai.nl or contact the author of this series, Kim Hollamby via LinkedIn. He’ll be pleased to get in touch.