DAME nominations

The DAME Design Award celebrates everything 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 worldwide to submit their latest products and have them judged by experts spanning all areas of design. Entrants are not just judged against their global peers, but the DAME Jury recognises improvements from year to year within individual companies.

All DAME-nominated products will feature on a special display at METSTRADE, located at the heart of the show in hall 13 (Elicium). Alongside, the METSTRADE Theatre will host a session on 15 and 16 November on this year’s DAME Awards category winners and outright winner.

New for this year, all nominees and winners will be featured on the DAME Awards website alongside a role of honour for past winners and details of the jury.

High ratio of impressive entries

“We knew right from the start of the judging process that many of this year’s entries had notable design qualities and that was subsequently reflected in the high ratio of nominations,” says Andre Hoek, chair of the DAME jury. “A good number of these are in close contention to win their categories.”

He adds: “I am grateful as always for the significant efforts and expertise of our jury members who have great experience in different areas in the marine industry. We were pleased to welcome a talented young designer, Rory Coase, onto the team this year.

“The complexity of many products continues to grow, and the rise of electrification and digital control is providing obvious impetus for many new developments. However, the DAME Awards continue to remind the global marine equipment sector that applying all facets of good design practice will benefit any product, large or small, simple or intricate.

“We look forward to naming our winners from this strong field of nominations at the Breakfast Briefing in November.”

METSTRADE director Niels Klarenbeek adds: “The DAME Awards has continually evolved to reflect the onward progress of the leisure marine equipment sector.

“For 2023, we completely reconfigured the categories to better reflect the changing world around us. These updates were well received when we announced them earlier in the year, and I’m pleased to see the new categories have worked well in practice too.

“We know from feedback that to be nominated in the DAME Awards can be a game changer for many entrants, while winning products are undeniably placed at the pinnacle of the marine equipment industry. We look forward to celebrating those who have achieved those accolades this year at the METSTRADE Breakfast Briefing on 15 November.”

The full list of this year’s nominated products is available online.

New DAME categories

The DAME Categories are all completely new for this year, with a revised focus on a product’s purpose and application to assist judging.

The jury will additionally name a product from among the field of DAME nominations as an Environmental Design Award winner if it finds an exemplar product that is well-designed and has clear and obvious merit.

Personal equipment

‘If I was going on a charter, had a boat share arrangement, went boating with a friend or have my own boat, what would my personal kit be?’

Comfort & entertainment afloat

‘If I don’t want to go boating in a bare hull, what kind of equipment am I likely to need to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of all afloat?’

Navigation & communication

‘If I was on the helm of a boat or bridge of a superyacht, what electronics and other equipment would I use to control and safely navigate it?’

Electronic & electrical systems

‘If I need electrical power anywhere in the boat or to make networkable devices speak to each other, what systems and equipment would I use?’

Propulsion & dynamics

‘If I want to move, steer, stabilise and trim the boat, what machinery and systems will I use?’

Deck equipment

‘If I’m sailing, mooring, anchoring and using the outdoor spaces on my boat, what hardware and equipment will I use?’

Security & safety aboard

‘What is the equipment aboard that serves specifically to keep my boat secure, safe and capable of dealing with emergencies afloat?’

Shoreside equipment & materials

‘What are all the items of off-vessel equipment, hardware, materials and software that help to construct and then support my boat from cradle to grave?’

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 of 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.

metstrade.com