BEng (Hons) Yacht and Powercraft Design (Full Time)

Close links with the yacht and small craft industry make this specialist degree internationally respected.

Course overview

The BEng (Hons) Yacht and Powercraft Design at Southampton Solent University is a well-established engineering degree that aims to produce graduates with the theoretical understanding and design skills of a professional naval architect working in the yacht and small craft industry. This could range from designing small racing sailing yachts through to a millionaire’s super yachts or patrol boats and commercial craft.

The naval architect/designer must take responsibility for the overall design, structure, speed and power, safety and stability of a craft. Emphasis is placed on practical examples and design applications, supported by computer-aided design (CAD) work. There are three principal themes running through all three years, broadly described as small craft technology, CAD and design practice, and engineering theory.

The course combines theory and practice and aims to build on your existing practical sailing and boatcraft knowledge. You will study in an ideal location, close to the thriving port in Southampton and its successful business community, which offers opportunities for extra practical experience. 

You'll benefit from our industry-standard facilities in the city centre and at Warsash Maritime Academy, where you can develop your design skills using CAD and participate in our practical workshops. In our towing and stability tanks, labs and fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) workshops, you'll also study the manufacture of composites, material testing, stability and marine engine investigations.

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Industrial focus

The course's international reputation for yacht and small craft design is founded on many years of experience and on its dedicated team of well-qualified teaching staff who have strong links to industry and are active in consultancy and design.

Course content

Year 1

Five core units and one option unit:

• Naval Architecture Principles
• Yacht Design and Production Principles
• Marine Craft Materials and Production
• Marine Craft Systems Principles
• Small Craft Mechanics.

Options:

• Mathematics
• Curriculum Plus.

• Marine Craft Design and Development
• Applied Yacht Design and Production
• Resistance and Propulsion
• Applied Marine Craft Systems
• Marine Craft Hydrodynamics
• Structural Analysis.

Year 3

Three core units and two option units:

• Marine Craft Structures (Practice)
• Advanced Yacht Design and Production
• Project (double unit).

Options:

• Aero-hydrodynamics
• Marine Craft Structures (Theory)
• Marine Industry Work-based Learning.

Why choose this course?

• Solent has over 35 years' experience in delivering yacht technology courses.
• A 60-metre industry standard towing tank used for laboratory sessions and final-year project work, as well as a 4-metre stability tank.
• Accredited for membership by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).
• Access to a wide range of study environments. The nearby Warsash Maritime Academy is used for practical field and boat work.

Assessment

Most units are assessed by a combination of course work and an exam element. Several CAD-based units such as yacht design and production are fully coursework assessed.

Key career skills

Creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork, design and production.

Projects/work experience 

Visits to boatyards, lifeboat builders and marine equipment suppliers. There is a formal marine industry work-based learning option available in the final year.

Graduate profiles

Tim McDowell

Tim currently works as a designer at Rogers Yacht Design, as part of a team involved in the engineering and production design of yachts and powerboats, including one off race boats, a Volvo open 70 race boat, mini Transat race boats, traditionally styled sail boats, production fishing boats, and floating offices.

"The degree, or an equivalent, was essentially a prerequisite for the job -Simon Rogers being a graduate of the YPD course a decade ago. I particularly benefited from the short practical design exercises on the curriculum, which related back to other theoretical areas of the course, particularly the structures, aero and hydrodynamics sections.

“I was a returning adult student so my student experience was a little different from the norm, but I loved the course and the fact that I was formally learning stuff that I had pursued for years on my own."

Christopher Leroy

“This course is a good opportunity to learn about all the construction of a boat, starting from the design, finishing with testing the boat in the sea. I really enjoy this course because the lecturers are really interesting and have a lot of past experience.”