DAME Design Awards 2023 winner praised as exemplar product that expands electrification horizons

Overall winner of the DAME Design Awards 2023: Oceanvolt HighPower ServoProp 25 © Marianne Ottemann

Jury Chair Andre Hoek presented the world-renowned DAME Award 2023 to the Oceanvolt HighPower ServoProp 25 at the commencement of the METSTRADE show this morning. Nine products took wins in eight brand new categories for this year, while 14 more received Special Mentions. The jury also named a recipient for its discretionary Environmental Design Award.

There were several strong electric propulsion solutions nominated this year. Among them the Jury selected the outstanding HighPower ServoProp 25 from Finnish electric inboard pioneer Oceanvolt to win the Propulsion & Dynamics category. In a closely run final round this product then claimed the overall DAME 2023 Award against other excellent category winners.

The jury commended this 25kW electric saildrive as an excellently conceived and engineered product that tangibly moves the goalposts for 45-70ft sailboats by providing a reliable and extremely quiet option for electrification. Oceanvolt's use of its controllable pitch propeller technology ensures maximum efficiency for propulsion and hydrogeneration, with the system able to return up 5kW of power when the yacht is sailing at 10 knots. The jury also noted the careful thought had been given to installation and ease of servicing when long-distance sailing.

Commenting on the result, Chair of the Jury, Andre Hoek stated: "The jury would like to thank everyone who entered this year's DAME Awards. The efforts of companies who offer their products for such detailed scrutiny are always appreciated, and we are always mindful of the time, resources and passion required to bring each product to market. This year we shortlisted 53 out of 100 entries, the highest ratio of nominees since 2016. That is indicative of the quality we saw across a healthy mix of genuinely new concepts as well as fresh design ideas for existing gear that has been with us for many years.

"As the DAME Awards reminds us annually, applying all facets of good design practice will benefit any product, large or small, simple or intricate. All nominees are to be congratulated for meeting the initial threshold for final judgement and entry at our excellent DAME showcase in hall 13 and on the new DAME Awards website.

"There were noticeably more entries this year supporting the boat electrification agenda, but it must not be forgotten that the drive towards net zero must influence all new products in the industry today. Improving the lifecycle impacts of marine equipment is an imperative for any design process. The environmental statements we request for each entry give reason to believe the industry is moving in that direction while also highlighting there is much more to do.

"The DAME's new categorisation structure for this year helped the jury to focus on the intended end purpose of all products. It also balanced the entry field more evenly, resulting in us being able to name worthy winners for all categories. Several were in close contention for the overall award, but our eventual choice was unanimous. Our 2023 DAME Award winner shifts the market in its sector and expands the potential for its technology through excellent design and manufacturing execution."

€14,250 raised by DAME entrants for worthy causes

Each year the organisers of the METSTRADE Show donate the combined registration fees for the DAME Design Award to selected charities as a way of giving back to society. For 2023 the METSTRADE Exhibition Committee selected The Magenta Project, a passionate collective working towards greater equity and inclusion in sailing, with a focus on gender. You can read more about this charity at themagentaproject.org

All winners at the DAME Design Awards 2023 - photo © Marianne Ottemann

2023 results

The names of all the winners and shortlisted entrants are shown below. Please visit www.damedesignawards.com to see the full Jury Report with information on the winning entries and insights on why they won.

DAME AWARDS 2023 overall winner

Oceanvolt HighPower ServoProp 25
Stand 01.682

CATEGORY WINNERS

Personal equipment:
Zhik Seaboot 700 (presented by Plastimo)
Stand 05.241/05.141

Comfort and entertainment afloat:
Scanstrut ATMOS 12V Waterproof Built In Air Station
Stand 03.502/03.510

Navigation & communication:
Raymarine Alpha Performance Display System
Stand 01.111

Electronic and electric systems:
Vimar Linea XT platform
Stand 10.306

Propulsion & dynamics:
Oceanvolt HighPower ServoProp 25
Stand 01.682

Deck equipment - Joint winners:
Ronstan Orbit Winch
Stand 03.131
Harken Push/Pull Captive Reel Winch
Stand 12.512/12.520

Security & safety aboard:
Hall Spars - LiMit Collar
Stand 01.112

Shoreside equipment & materials:
Spot Zero Mobile Pro Mini Water Purifier
Stand 03.130

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AWARD WINNER

Marservis EcoCube
Stand 07.312

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Personal equipment:
Mustang Survival Atlas 190 Pro Sensor Life Jacket
Stand 01.710
WesCom Group sMRT ALERT DSC AIS MOB
Stand 3.321

Comfort & entertainment Afloat:
Blue-Airco DC variable speed self-contained unit
Stand 07.414
Solvit3D MAKRA FLADE - Marine
Stand 07.433
Hansa Noord MEMBRALOOP flexible water filter
Stand 07.311

Navigation & communication:
Garmin GPSMAP 9000 Series
Stand 01.101/01.103/ 01.200

Electronic & electric systems:
Gussi Italia MURANO
Stand 01.241
EPTechnologies Solid State Battery
Stand 03.331

Propulsion & dynamics:
TEMO - TEMO 1000
Stand 05.457

Deck equipment:
Rigging Projects X Car
Stand 01.540
Goiot Systems Magic deck hatches
Stand 5.454
Cyclops Marine smartbatten system
Stand 03.211

Security and safety onboard:
Swiss Ocean Tech AnchorGuardian
Stand 11.412
Digital Yacht CO Alert
Stand 01.533

About the DAME Design Awards

The DAME Design Awards celebrates everything that is important about marine equipment design, from aesthetics to functionality, integration to packaging and price efficiency to lifecycle management. It offers opportunities for all METSTRADE Show exhibitors from around the world to submit their latest products and have them judged by experts spanning all areas of design. Because of this wider focus, the DAME encourages the whole marine industry to continuously improve its design efforts, to the last detail. Entrants are not just judged against their global peers, but the DAME Jury recognises improvements from year-to-year within individual companies too.

The DAME Design Awards continue to perform a vital function within the marine industry in stimulating design progression across all disciplines and product types. Great end-to-end design is vital to improve manufacturing efficiency and product reliability. It plays a developing role in environmental responsibility. It also recognises that the marine industry must match the high customer expectations set by products in other sectors like automotive and consumer electronics.

The DAME Awards 2023 featured eight categories that were all completely new for this year, with revised focus on a product's purpose and application to assist judging.

DAME Jury 2023

This year's DAME Jury is made up of eight leading industry experts:

• Andre Hoek (chair), naval architect and yacht designer, founder of Hoek Design and Hoek Brokerage, The Netherlands
• Elaine Bunting, independent marine journalist, qualified yacht instructor and former editor Yachting World, UK (judged remotely)
• Davide Cipriani, boat and industrial designer, president of yacht design at Centrostiledesign, Italy
• Rory Coase, yacht designer, Coase Design, Norway
• Ben Ellison, freelance marine technical journalist, Panbo marine electronics hub, USA (attended remotely)
• Patrick Hemp, technical manager and trained designer, ICOMIA, South Africa
• Arjen Jansen, senior lecturer, school for Industrial Design Engineering at TUDelft, The Netherlands
• Olivier Racoupeau, naval architect and boat designer, founder and owner of Berret Racoupeau Yachts, France

The DAME Jury is supported by a non-voting secretary, Kim Hollamby of Hollamby Partnership, UK