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Modular boat interior

Degree Project 2023

The project focuses on the possibilities of implementing a modular interior system for leisure boats for a greater user range. By researching already existing boats, and the market values, the project seeks to find a new way to implement a system to be longer lasting for the owner(s) and have a wider specter of usage. Since the current industry rests on the same production methods and is limiting users to ‘choose wisely’ before investing, the task is then to find a way to make it easier for users to be flexible with their choice both beforehand and after buying. A boat does not simply have to have one area of use alone, it can have many.

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Project information

The ocean is an open asset for everyone. And with a boat, the ocean becomes a place to escape day-to-day life. Owning a boat is all about having “just what you need”. And when these needs no longer meet the owners’ standards, they sell their boat. From the sunbed to storage, most boat interiors are made from one big mold – shaping the entirety of the interior. However, there is a new market currently in its growing phase, the electrification of boats. This new market opens up for a lot of change in the industry. Most of all, the loss of bulky internal combustion engines. With new electric engines, and its compact built, we can option for a completely flat deck.

With more than 900.000 leisure boats in Norway, many choose to move on to newer, bigger or smaller boats every season. From a changing lifestyle, the owner(s) find new interests in a boat – there could be problems with space and/ or the general layout of the vessel.

By using the double diamond method, this project explores the potential of having a modular system aboard a 26-feet center console leisure boat. Understanding what and why people choose to own a boat has been a big focus – and for most of them it is about having the possibility to escape day-to-day life and enjoy what the ocean has to offer during the summer seasons. In other words, people want to enjoy days outside in different ways – if it’s for sunbathing, watersports or for the simple pleasure of cruising. But what happens when a boat isn’t meeting the needs an owner wants? The idea with this project is to create a boat where the interior layout will somewhat always be accessible for the owner to create – where all interior modules are movable and be locked in place wherever the owner chooses to. The flexibility makes it possible to adapt the interior with the owners’ wish – seeking to make it more feasible to own just one boat for a longer period, and even make it possible to have a completely open deckplan for use of larger materials and equipment – such as lumber, if one for example where to build a cabin on a remote location.

All modules are locked in place by the use of L-tracks, a standardized system – the same system we use today in airplane seats. This makes it easy to adjust all modules and even easier to find other accessories if one where to fix things by yourself.