Designer Scott Henderson recently developed the concept for the SCORPION, a 32' Launch Vessel concept, as a Speculative Pitch to one of his favorite brands: Chris Craft. Here he elaborates on both the what and the why behind his never-to-be-realized project.
Designers are always waiting for that ideal project—the dream project. The question is, why wait? Why not just assign yourself an ideal project?
I've been tinkering with marine and watercraft design for a while now—not to mention large aircraft design projects in the past—so I am used to transportation design of this scale. A simple shift in scale from what you are usually designing on a day-to-day basis can be an refreshing exercise in itself.
Why put forth an effort like this on spec? Sometimes you just have a good idea, a strong vision that simply must be executed, a need to design something different. Something self-initiated. Call it the 'Just-Do-It' mentality.
I have floated a few yacht concepts out there, which I did mostly for fun when the UK publication Super Yacht Design published a bent wood chair I designed called SLAT, as well as an Octopus sculpture called Vulgaris (which I made for the World Wild Life Fund's "Faces in The Wild" auction), and invited me to do a concept yacht. Since then, marine as a new category to work in is definitely starting to produce a wake behind my efforts. I am meeting people in that very different world from my usual product design channels who I would have never met before. It also seems to energize my thinking process for my usual type of project by stepping away from the norm.
The concept of creating something completely self-initiated can be unnerving—because in a way, you really are hanging yourself out to dry. I think back to the founding of our company MINT, which was born out of the same kind of self-initiated experiment—the initial products were essentially sketches without homes. Just do it.
I have admired the Chris Craft brand ever since childhood trips to a lake house in the Adirondacks. The company's mahogany runabouts from the 1940's, 50's and 60's are iconic, timeless and sought-after pieces of design to this day, known for their deep-V hulls that twist dramatically from an extreme negative slope at the bow, reversing along the way toward the "barrel-back" at the stern. It's a brand with strong heritage akin to that of Harley Davidson, Levi's and Coke.
With SCORPION, I assigned myself a design challenge: What should a 'next generation' launch vessel express to honor the tradition of those fantastic wooden power boats by instead using a contemporary fiberglass construction? The vision was to push my own perception of the Chris Craft aura pretty far out there without breaking it. I was going for freshness, but I wanted the end result to say 'Chris Craft' at a glance. It's a design exercise many of us do every day, but it gets really fun when the challenge means something to you personally.
SCORPION'S top surface and wind screen frame consist of a single continuous surface—a uni-body. The glass from the wind screen transitions seamlessly into a long side window on both sides of the forward deck—reminiscent of a scorpion's claw—expressing speed and power while maintaining a high degree of luxury and style. The windshield therefore doesn't read as 'stuck on"; it is holistically integrated with the expression of the object.
The center window over the forward deck has a border that continues through the windshield, on down to the floor, and up and over the aft deck and through the swim deck at the stern. This "racing stripe" ties SCORPION's composition together from front to back. The large center window and the two integrated side windows on the bow (the SCORPION's 'claw') provide 180 degrees of natural illumination to the V-Berth quarters below. By allowing light and visual line of sight to the outside world, the inhabitants of the forward cabin space are connected to their surroundings rather than cut off and shielded from the water while inside.
I remember being inspired by something Neil Young once said—something along the lines of "Anyone who wants to be a musician to make lots of money will fail; it's the drive to create music that leads to success."
The 32' Scorpion Concept is designed to feature a Twin Mercury 8.2 MAG HO (430hp) engine, with a top speed of 60 miles per hour (53.0 knots @5000 RPM), a cruising speed of 35 mph / 30 knots (@3000 rpm), and a cruising range of 280 miles.
Scott Henderson is an American product designer working in New York City. Known for his innovative consumer products in the areas of Houseware's, Electronics, Furniture and his line of Museum Store gift objects called MINT, the 32' Launch vessel SCORPION follows his earlier Mega Yacht concepts- PRIONA, QUILLON and MANTA, designed in 2012.
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Comments
Not quite sure about length of engine compartment (compared to merc and outdrive package) and hull size and keel V for spec power plant and performance. But these things can be modified while keeping the same look and feel.