STEERING WHEEL
Granata drew inspiration from the Zero Bike—designed by Japanese art students Makota Makita and Hiroshi Tsuzaki more than 30 years ago in Los Angeles—for his smart dash’s sleek steering wheel. It looks otherworldly. Magnetic superconductivity makes the magic happen; the wheel doesn’t have spokes or hubs, so it depends on magnets to suspend and cradle the rim.
“An encapsulated magnetic strip on the back determines where the wheel is and coordinates with the throttle,” Granata explains. “A screen just below the wheel shows the driver its orientation. With current steering systems, you have little idea of the direction you’re aimed. This direction reader even tells you what direction you’ll be traveling if you’re in reverse.”
The acrylic (or similar material) fly-by-wire steering wheel tilts, can move forward and back, and has its own illumination. This light and the magnetic strip are both contained, protecting them from the marine environment.
“As demonstrated in the cycle using this technology for its wheels, the system can be designed to be very rugged and waterproof,” Granata says.
The wheel design provides more dashboard space than a traditional spoke steering wheel allows. Current marine dashboards already are full of electronics, and as demand grows for additional components, overcrowding is a real concern.
“The area behind a traditional spoke wheel is valuable real estate, and with boat buyers demanding larger screen sizes, every inch of that space is critical,” Granata says.
In this design, even the base of the steering wheel—right through the center, where the spokes would be—makes an important contribution.
boats ranging from sport cruisers to motoryachts. But from Granata’s point of view, this is just the beginning.
“Right now, a boat manufacturer takes the electronics and plunks them onto a fiberglass dash,” he says. “Different technologies are separate elements, and you have to read through multiple manuals to learn how each one works. That can be frustrating; your dash should help you, not confuse you. It needs to be more intuitive for ease of use and safety.
“The necessary technology for the dash concept already exists,” he continues. “It needs to be integrated, however, not just assembled. The automotive industry has moved into this area strongly, and they’re moving quickly.”
As a pragmatic futurist, Granata predicts this concept will provide the next leap forward for recreational boat brands. And he’s not alone.
SIMPLICITY AND CONTROL
Jack Telnack was Ford Motor Company’s global vice president of design from 1980 to 1997. He began working with Ford as a designer in 1958 and became head stylist of LincolnMercury in 1965. Telnack was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2008.
He also worked as a designer for Trojan Yachts during its early fiberglass years, and he remains an avid boater today; he currently owns a 30-foot Chris-Craft and 28-foot Pursuit.
“The trend today is to simplify,” he says. “One screen, one format, one presentation. It’s true that the automotive industry has influenced the boating industry, but a lot of marine design has influenced automotive over the years as well. It goes both ways because people want the same features.
“When Tesla did its screen, you had to look to the center for all the functions— even the speedometer,” he says. “Lincoln did something similar. The Ford Mustang Mach-E did too, but they chose to keep the speedometer and tachometer in front of the driver. Then Cadillac came out with a large rectangular screen that stretched horizontally from in front of the driver to the center. I liked that. As the driver, I want to see everything, not one thing at a time.”
Daniel Vieira, vice president of yacht design for
“THE NECESSARY TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DASH CONCEPT ALREADY EXISTS. IT NEEDS TO BE INTEGRATED, HOWEVER, NOT JUST ASSEMBLED. THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY HAS MOVED INTO THIS AREA STRONGLY, AND THEY’RE MOVING QUICKLY.”
Hudson Yacht Group, says he thinks this kind of full integration is the most exciting development in yacht design.
“This is the future,” he says. “We’re looking at boats holistically. More owners want everything to run through the helm, and they don’t want to have to adapt to a new interface with each piece of technology, or see the dash change as components change. We’re going to see more tech overlap—communication between components.”
Vieira earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design from Savannah College of Art and Design, and his MBA from Florida International University. He worked as an industrial designer for MasterCraft for 15 years.
“I designed different dashes for MasterCraft, and in 2018, I did one that had two versions—one was all digital,” he says. “That’s definitely the trend—going all glass.”
Vieira also served as the platform designer for Aviara Boats. The concept presented a new approach based on the latest research for a 30- to 40foot open-bow day cruiser.
“In this market, the driver wants everything to run through him,” Vieira reflects. “It’s a point of pride. He wants to have control over every aspect of the environment so he can have control over delivering a fun experience. It’s about being a great host.”
The designer noted that these boaters are equally attentive to the quality of the lived experience in their own homes, and they want to extend that to their boats. For them, owning a boat is about the experience, not the thing itself. And if a seamless, integrated, user-friendly interface with all components in one location can deliver that experience to life on the water, they’re on board.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, boatbuilders have produced boats as quickly as possible. Inventories are low, waiting periods are long, and it seems just about everyone wants to buy a boat. Going into the 2021 boating season, that hasn’t changed.
It will. And when that happens, Granata says industry leaders need to be prepared for what’s next.
“If we’re so busy selling, we’re not developing, and that shrinks our future opportunities,” he says. “Historically, the boating industry has been an originator and developer of ideas. We need to get out beyond where we are now.”