The Motor Carrier, Reinvented
Candidate products from a variety of vendors competing for innovation awards at IBEX—the annual marine-industry trade show held last fall in Louisville, Kentucky—were arrayed on and around a draped, multilevel display island centrally located in the rear of the show’s huge exhibit hall, just beyond the floor plan of vendor booths. You might think such a spot, far from the foot traffic near the front entrance, is out of the way, but in fact this eclectic new-products exhibit attracted a considerable number of IBEX attendees.
By late December the trade press was reporting the winner in each of 10 product categories ranging from safety equipment to propulsion parts, as chosen by a committee of boating writers. Consistent with current trends in consumer goods and appliances, much of the winning gear at IBEX boasts advanced electronics in one form or another: touch-screen controls, say, or apps that link to a smart phone or other mobile device. (For a complete list of winning companies by category, see the January 2012 issue of Soundings Trade Only.)
Wood to Glass
The biggest changes in modern boatbuilding occurred between the years 1940 and 1970. Professional BoatBuilder, in partnership with several museums, announces an exhibition of pioneering designers and builders of fiberglass boats.
Fiberglass changed the world. It might not rank with the invention of electricity or the automobile, but fiberglass—and what we today call “composites”—revolutionized not only boating but many other industries as well. Composites are replacing wood and metal in hundreds of applications: telephone poles, bridges, people movers, wind turbines, car parts, airplane fuselages and wings, to name a few. Their uses are nearly limitless. Why? Because properly engineered composites are stiff, strong, and abrasion resistant, and never rot or rust.
Direct Descendant
Drawn in late 1963 by Renato “Sonny” Levi and currently produced in Italy, the composite-built 30′/9.1m fast cruiser we’re looking at here, called the Levi Corsair, has a pedigreed lineage.
Its parent hull was the beamier 30′ ’A Speranziella, a made-in-Italy one-off that Levi designed specifically for, and then drove in, the inaugural Cowes–Torquay Offshore Powerboat Race off the south coast of England 50 years ago this past August. (By adding a return leg in 1967, the race became, technically, the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes.) Levi drove his ’A Speranziella in the next two Cowes–Torquay events, winning it in ’63. The boat’s impressive performance in all three editions of this difficult race, despite incurring structural and mechanical problems during the first two outings, generated considerable international interest in Levi’s design talents. His remarkable portfolio from that period on—the Levi design studio is still active—will be presented in the February/March 2012 issue of Professional BoatBuilder magazine.
1969 Donzi Ski Sporter, 1/12-Scale Replica
In Professional BoatBuilder No. 135, the article “Wood to Glass” previews the making of a virtual exhibit of boats, designers, and builders significant during the years 1940–1970, when wood as the preferred hull and deck material gave way to fiberglass. Readers are asked to contribute stories and photos to the virtual exhibit, which eventually will become a physical exhibit traveling between our partner institutions: Mystic Seaport, Mariners Museum, and the MIT Museum.
Outside the Box:
Professional BoatBuilder’s Design X PechaKucha at IBEX 2011
Among other firsts introduced at IBEX 2011 last month was Professional BoatBuilder magazine’s Design X PechaKucha for boat designers. What’s that? you ask. PechaKucha is a rigid, allegedly Japanese presentation format that limits each live speaker to 20 slides or images with 20 seconds to speak about each one. This year’s invitation-only evening at the Louisville Science Center proved that it’s a great format for exposure to new boat designs and designers.
