The studio

Established in 1981, Dixon Yacht Design is a multi-skilled and multi-disciplinary design practice. Based on the water’s edge at the epicentre of UK yachting, the Studio’s diverse portfolio of work has been credited with numerous international awards.

Our key strength is our unrivalled diversity. Our broad spectrum of designs encompasses sail and power, production boats and custom superyachts, displacement craft and fast planning powerboats, monohulls and multihulls, and myriad permutations of those different types.

Working with small and large boatbuilders worldwide, our diversity encourages innovation, and allows ideas and methodologies to flow constructively between seemingly disparate projects. We aim to give production boatbuilders the sophisticated design flair that inhabits the world of super-yachting. And to satisfy Superyacht owners who still want their vision to be eminently practical and efficiently designed.

What we do

In most cases, the studio creates the overall vision and concept, based on the strength of our core skills comprise naval architecture, interior space planning, engineering and construction, and creative deck styling. On our larger custom projects and some production projects, we often work alongside the world’s pre-eminent interior stylists. All design involves a degree of compromise, but working across such a diverse range of designs helps us to more easily understand and reconcile the occasionally divergent demands of safety and slick styling, reliability and cutting edge technology, or cost and complexity.

Listening closely to clients and translating their visions into practical realities is the key aim of our studio. This journey is a complex one, but by combining our 40 years of accumulated knowledge and experience with that of our extensive contacts right across the industry; boatbuilders, suppliers, materials experts and propulsion specialists, we aim to minimise the risks and maximise the project’s success.

Our experience has taught us that people from different countries and continents can have distinct ways of conducting themselves and their businesses. We have considerable experience overseas, for example, we’ve been actively designing sailboats and powerboats in the Asian market for four decades now, and our understanding of the culture there has been key to several successful building programmes.

The design process

Typically, the design process breaks down into three principal areas. The initial creative stage involves sculpting the preliminary concepts on paper and using CAD (Computer Aided Design). For a production design, this could also involve the development of unique branding, using our wide-ranging knowledge of the international market.

For a custom project, this would be followed by a set of tender drawings and detailed specifications to allow a selection of shipyards to provide quotations. The third stage would be producing the production drawings and the 3D models, always with the design resources and the methodologies of the chosen shipyard firmly in mind.

For a fully productionised project we are able to supply 3D models ready for CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining which could include the hull, the deck, the structural grid, the moulded headliners and the myriad smaller sub-mouldings.

We produce accurate design information with consideration of the appropriate rules and regulations. As a matter of routine, we supply the client and the yard with ongoing 3D development drawings which can be viewed on any desktop or portable device, ensuring that everybody involved with the process is kept up to date as it develops.

The tools we use

In order to make the design process more efficient, more accurate and more creative, Dixon Yacht Design has always invested in the best software tools. All our projects are developed in 3D, which allows us to optimise the spaces and volumes afforded to us. Our 3D modelling is second to none, as are our photo realistic renderings and Video Flyby animations.

When optimum performance is required, we can carry out Wind Tunnel and Towing Tank testing. We also use in house CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and VPP (Velocity Prediction Programmes) which are powerful tools for optimising hull shapes to the required performance range.

People

Marie Amelie Renard Prince v2 — **Marie-Amélie Renard Prince**
Senior Naval Architect

**Simon Coles**
Senior Designer Production Boats

**Matt Dixon**
Yacht Designer & Naval Architect