South African design student Finn Lortan has been named winner of the Young Designer of the Year Award 2026, in association with Feadship. The competition attracted over 160 participants, with judges reporting an exceptionally competitive field of entries.
This year's challenge required entrants to imagine themselves as junior designers working at Feadship. The task was to design a custom 60-metre day boat called Amiche for a fictional client who already owns a Feadship explorer yacht. The brief called for a converted vessel rebuilt from the main deck upward using Feadship Refit services to accelerate delivery timelines, capable of entertaining up to 20 guests with only two family cabins and extensive entertainment facilities.
According to judging panel chairman Roger Lean-Vercoe, 35 submissions met the competition standards from the initial 160 entries. The panel refined the field to six finalists and after much consideration, the final vote placed Lortan as the winner. Italian entrant Simone Pessina earned a very close second place and a judges' commendation for his design.
Currently studying Transportation Design at Coventry University in the UK, Lortan impressed the judges with his vessel's general arrangement that prioritised large-scale outdoor entertainment spaces. The design features a central entertainment area for dining, lounging and socialising, complemented by a beach club on the lower deck with shell doors opening to the sea on both sides.
Lean-Vercoe noted that while Lortan's exterior styling approached extreme design territory, the layout "completely understood the need for a large open-air entertainment space that would become the centre of all activity".
The judges also praised the quality and detail of Lortan's hand-drawn development sketches and explanatory drawings, which Lean-Vercoe described as "capable of engaging the attention of any client".
The competition highlighted the contrast between Lortan's bold approach and Pessina's more conventional design methodology, with the panel ultimately favouring Lortan's innovative solution to the brief's requirements.
To find out more about the Young Designer of the Year Award, please contact the BOAT International events team.