Concept Boat Answers Women's Concerns
It may not be flashy, but the All aboard boasts a combined water slide and rescue ramp and an integrated gangway in the side of the boat. Interviews with 1,000 women helped designers come up with it.
A concept boat named All aboard will go on display March 2 at an international boat show in Stockholm. It's no luxury yacht, but the designers say they were trying to solve a problem and responding to a challenge from the Swedish Marine Technology Forum: to design a boat that will appeal to women.
When a family sells its boat, "it is almost always the woman who is behind the idea," according to a Volvo Penta news release about the All aboard. (Volvo Penta joined Nimbus Group, Ryds Båtindustri, Båtsystem, Seldén Mast, CPAC Systems, Tylö, Dacat, and White in working on the design.)
The company says common problem areas that 1,000 interviewed women listed were:
- Problems getting into and out of the boat
- Poor visibility
- Not enough space for social life
- Difficulty in rescuing a person overboard
- Heavy winches
- Heavy anchor
- Incomprehensive engine manual
- Kitchen not designed for cooking
They claim the All aboard solves these. It includes a combined water slide and rescue ramp and an integrated gangway in the side of the boat.
"Our goal is to include women's requirements into a boat without excluding the men. The goal is also to inspire the boat industry with new ideas that can attract new customers," said Tatiana Butovitsch Temm of business developers Ampersand, which was involved in the project.