Yacht and Powercraft Design with Science and Engineering Foundation Year

Solent’s internationally-recognised yacht and powercraft design course focuses on developing your knowledge of, and skills in yacht and powercraft design and production for vessels up to 24 metres in length.

Previous students have benefitted from attending guest lectures by speakers from key industry organisations such as the Royal Institute of Naval Architects (RINA), Nigel Gee BMT, Babcock Engineering, Gurit, Sunseeker, Rob Humphries Design and Norbert Sedlacek (Open 60 skipper).

To help build their professional network, students are encouraged to attend local boat shows, including the Southampton Boat Show and Seawork International. Previous students have also been on yard visits, with recent trips including Sunseeker, Green Marine and Solent Refit.

This course is part of the South Coast Institute of Technology (IoT), a partnership of colleges, universities and industry-leading employers to create new career opportunities in the technology sector. IoT courses like this one are precisely tailored to the needs of employers in the maritime, engineering and digital industries – industries which are hungry for talented new engineers, technologists, technicians and creatives like you.

If you’re looking to study our yacht and powercraft design degree but don’t have the relevant qualifications or experience, the science and engineering foundation year will help you develop the core skills and knowledge to progress. Find out more about the science and engineering foundation year.

Who is this course for?
This course is aimed at those who want to design smaller leisure craft such as sailing boats and powercraft.

Students learn the fundamentals of yacht design alongside the latest construction methods to gain a solid grounding for roles in yacht design, naval architecture or equipment design.

What does this course lead to?
Course graduates have gone on to various industry roles, including naval architect or design engineer, at companies such as Laurent Giles Naval Architects, Sunseeker Yachts, Humphries Yacht Design, Monaco Marine, Viareggio Shipyards in Italy and Incat Crowther Design in the USA.

FOUNDATION MODULES
CORE MODULES

STEM Foundation Skills
Fundamental STEM Mathematics
STEM Concepts and Processes (Engineering)
Degree Related Project

YEAR ONE
COR MODULES

Naval Architecture Design
Applied Technology Design
Marine Design Skills
Mechanics and Materials

YEAR TWO
CORE MODULES

Sustainable Resistance and Propulsion
Powered Vessel Design
Composite Technology
Sailing Yacht Design

FINAL YEAR
CORE MODULES

Performance Power Craft
Structure Design and Management
Sailing Yacht Performance
Dissertation

You may be assessed by a combination of:
Coursework
Written exams
As part of this course, you will study one module at a time, giving you the chance to build a deeper understanding and see the results of your hard work more quickly. With regular assessments and feedback, rather than exams all at once, you’ll also benefit from improved focus, and a more manageable workload.