On Thursday 28 January Albert Levy, on behalf of the Yacht Group at Ince & Co, welcomed 50 guests to the fourth seminar in their series of "Turning the Dream into Reality". We were fortunate to have guest speakers, all of whom are recognised leaders in their fields.
 
Lynda Cotton, Executive Director at Willis Superyacht Insurance Division, presented an interesting talk on "Valuations in a testing environment". Willis are a major player in the yacht insurance market and currently insure 12 of the world's 20 largest superyachts. Lynda's presentation covered a wide range of factors that underwriters take into account when considering the insurance value of a yacht. She addressed, in particular, the differences between an “agreed value” policy and one of indemnity, advising that the largest yachts were on agreed terms. Interesting discussion was raised from the floor on this subject, given the levels of insurance cover maintained despite the perceived drop in market value of many yachts due to the current economic climate.

The second presentation on "Intellectual property rights in yacht design" was given by Rapisardi Intellectual Property. Catherina Obermayer and Elena Cristofori initially spoke on the methods available to protect and enforce intellectual property rights: patents, trade marks, copyright and designs. It was pointed out that, for example, a propeller could be patented, used as a trademark, copyrighted, as well as having its design protected. Mariacristina Rapisardi, with her team, fielded a large number of questions from the floor. This talk provoked considerable interest, particularly from the designers amongst the audience, who see as a key issue the protection of their designs and software as owners seek more novel ways of making their yachts stand out from the crowd.

The final presentation was by Daria Cabaj, Senior Consultant and Naval Architect at Burness Corlett Three Quays, on "Design of modern yachts for damage stability". In May 2009 Daria was awarded the RINA/Lloyds Register Educational Trust Ship Safety Award for her Floodable Length Surfaces (FLS) software tool. This helps designers understand the implications of adding, deleting or moving bulkheads within their designs. Daria also covered the various regulations governing yacht safety and the impact that these have on design issues. Her comments on the proposed 13-36 Code and the change in style between a probabilistic approach to a more deterministic approach were instructive to those that would be involved in the design process. It was fascinating for those of us that have not been involved in this side of the process to see how complicated this area of yacht design really is.

The talks were followed by drinks and a buffet supper, which provided a chance for those present to continue the debate generated by the speakers.


Related Links
Ince & Co - company profile | company website
Willis Limited - company profile | company website
Rapisardi Intellectual Property - company website
Burness Corlett Three Quays - company profile | company website