Jonny Horsfield, Owner and Creative Director of H2 Yacht Design, says the first rule of yacht design is that you must prepare a good brief. This means the owner needs to sit down with his captain and his crew and with his designer and establish exactly what he wants for this yacht.
“I enjoy the process of listening to the client and trying to give him or her what they want,” he says. “The important thing is to never say no to a client. I think there’s always a solution – it might not be exactly what they’re really wanting, but you can never say no because anything, really, is possible with yachts.”
Watch the video below to see Jonny explain why it’s important to start with a GA and talk through his other rules for yacht design.
The second rule of yacht design is to start with a general arrangement (GA). That’s because it’s the footprint of the yacht, as Jonny explains: “What you don’t want to do is go off on a hundred miles an hour on some crazy exterior and try to sell clients a pretty picture when you don’t have a proper general arrangement.”
Next, for rule three, you need to establish an interior style that the client wants. Whilst many owners choose interior designers because they love their house style, Jonny explains people come to H2 Yacht Design for a different reason. “Our style is to work with the client and establish a new design and something that’s right for them,” he says. “It’s not about me and establishing my brand, it’s about having happy customers and I think it’s important that every client has the chance to do something unique for them.”
Beauty and elegance in the exterior is yacht design rule number four, Jonny says, as he gives a great example of how he has done this on previous project Maryah. “She has a magnificent balcony higher up on the decks and the styling evolves around that balcony and so it looks amazing but also it’s the perfect spot to watch the world go by,” he says.
Finally, combining functionality and fun is another rule of yacht design that Jonny abides by. In the video he talks about how he did this on Graceful with an 18 metre swimming pool that has a hydraulic floor. The floor can be raised to transform the room into a nightclub or cinema. “That was functional and incredible fun and an amazing feature,” Jonny says. “That’s probably one of the best features I’ve done.”