The main problems with pontoon boats were analyzed and also with this project i not only wanted to address the typical mechanical and styling problems but also enhance the image of the pontoon boat in the eyes of buyers as a sophisticated and fun vehicle to own.

After much research and talking to boat owners personally, and also on boat forums i put together a collection of brands and popular boats that people recommended to take a look at the various details and styles, what worried me the most was they were all very similar and so were the colors and materials used. To change the trend i had to keep the sense of family, the aspect of spending time together and also a new paradigm of fun for teenagers as the core values to work on but create a completely different form language.

With the initial brief in mind, i started to work on various forms and to incorporate a sort of sporty feel to all my ideas. But they weren’t enough as the product looked and felt very similar to anything else on the market. So i veered away from the usual references and looked at architecture and cars. The interesting thing about them was the use of glass and clear material to signify the openness of space and at the same time enclosing the user in a cocoon of luxury. I decided to use that direction forward.

Also taking references from certain key words i had formed, i whittled it down to three main forms to refine.

With more refinement i finally got to the form i was looking for and started to work on details and various other factors.

Also to solve the problem of ugly canopies and canvas covers, i was inspired by a convertible car roof and hence the form also adapted to incorporate that functionality. I was very interested in designing and profiling a very speedy looking yet calming form language to incorporate all the other ideas.

The final sketch of the interior as well as the exterior of the product gave me the necessary ideas and the right direction to pursue as far as 3D modeling goes. I started work on the outer shell in Alias and built all the surfaces and then imported them into soild works to do the details.

I wanted to convey with this design that pontoon boats were not only for the aged, but more so for the teenage crowds as well to experience fresh air, clear waters and also a sense of speed, and this render  served as a reference in scale as well with human interaction aspect in it.

The design won me the prestigious MDRA grand prize ( international ) beating several hundreds of entries along with being selected for the first prize in the PONTOON boat design category. The prize money totaled close to 12,000 $ for me and the school.

As with any project i work a lot analyzing the entire interaction of the product from start to end. Showing how the piezoelectric effect works - the main concept for the propulsion was through a lot of technology research into various propulsion methods. Using the kinetic energy of the water itself, the pontoons would be made of a piezoelectric material and the water hitting the pontoons would create enough electricity that can be channeled and stored in capacitors and a main power plant to be utilized via an electric motor. Also a retractable platform would be ideal for fishing enthusiasts or just to get your feet wet.

A good rendering is directly dependent on a good 3D model and i could not be more than happy with this beauty shot that i created after using good old alias to render a base model and then using photoshop to do all the shadows and lighting. Remember Hypershot® wasn’t out yet and so this took almost close to three hours to work up in photoshop.