Intermarine/SCAD Motorboat Project Nears Completion

Intermarine Savannah is helping students learn the art of yachtbuilding by offering its cast of experts as overseers in the creation of a 21-ft. motorboat, Intermarine Savannah has literally orchestrated its own hands-on textbook by assisting students from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) to conceive, design and construct a unique pleasure-boat using the company’s materials and techniques.

Aside from donating classroom space for the vessel’s construction process, Intermarine Savannah has provided thousands of dollars in materials and time spent with a student-crew of 24 undergraduates. Gordon Lacy, Intermarine’s chief naval architect, has seen the Savannah College of Art and Design’s “Sink or Swim” project go from sketches on a drawing board to a sandy mold of a pleasure boat in the past several months. “They are truly learning the craft of boat-building,” Lacy said. “You learn, in naval architecture, the little changes on the boat’s bottom mean big changes in the water. Your work on land can have dramatic effects in all aspects of the boat’s performance.”

Lacy, who was instrumental in perfecting Vacuum Infusion Process (VIP) at Intermarine’s facility, has brought this technique into the students’ master plan and, with his guidance, they are garnering knowledge of a technique that Lacy calls “the wave of the future.”

“This is a process that is new and innovative and at Intermarine, we’ve refined it,” Lacy said. “It’s an environment-friendly way that eliminates handwork, dirt and odors. We’re pleased to share our process with the students.”

While such grinding work might seem too challenging for a 20-something student, these Product Design majors seem to enjoy tackling this type of homework. “When the hull came back and looked like a boat, I was thrilled,” said Chris

Wawrousek, a 21-year-old junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design who worked on the boat’s design. “This class presents a tremendous opportunity. It makes us work as a team. It’s more than just a class. It’s the difference between school and the real world. It is the real world.” Wawrousek and others are a part of a team of SCAD students who have combined their energies with the resources of Intermarine Savannah, a company that produces luxury motoryachts on speculation. Creating, designing and producing a 21-ft. sportboat from scratch is a class topic not normally found on a college schedule. Not only are these students completing their assignment, but if all goes according to their professor’s schedule, the Ocera will be sailing this summer and spreading the word that companies who encourage on-site learning are also contributing to the well-being of the local economy.

Juliet Bell said the three-quarter course is by far, “the hardest class I’ve had all along.” Bell is the only woman working on the project. Her enthusiasm often replaces her need for sleep and her motivation for working long hours on the project even extends through the school’s holidays.

“It’s really cool to go out at night and be able to ask, ‘Hey, what do you do?’ and then answer them with, ‘I build boats.’ This is a field that is really open to women. The industry needs that!” she said.

Spearheading the project for the Savannah College of Art and Design is Professor Tom Gattis, who is optimistic that the project’s completion will take the school, students and Intermarine Savannah to new heights. He said his motivation to tackle such an intensely challenging course comes from his own enthusiasm for the project. “I get up every morning, excited about the day ahead. I can hardly sleep at night considering the time and money being invested by the sponsors and students. The closer we get to meeting our goal, the more excited I get. I keep them organized. I keep the materials on-site and I keep the students walking,” he said.

The boat’s name, Ocera, comes from the word, ocean, which references the sea, and “era,” which represents a new era in boat design where students provide companies with new ideas in building techniques, design and creativity, according to Gattis.

Gattis praised both Intermarine and other sponsoring companies, including StingRay, a nationally known manufacturer who has been instrumental in providing equipment and guidance for actual production; Volvo Penta for providing the 8-cylinder, 315 hp engine and Intermarine’s designer, Luiz de Basto. Providing resources and expertise for the unique project are professionals from Intermarine Savannah’s 21-acre shipyard where world-class, fiberglass motor yachts from 95- to 145-ft. long are also designed and built, according to company president Thom Conboy.

“We’re really excited about our involvement with the project. I’m a great believer in the idea that you learn by doing, and that’s what this program is all about...helping to educate tomorrow’s boatbuilders and designers.” So what makes this sportboat different from its competitors? According to Jason Kardas, a 22-year-old Product Design major from Poughkeepsie, NY, it’s the vessel’s unique “friendly”layout. “We’ve created a layout that is suitable for a family of four who enjoys many different boating activities, from water-skiing to fishing,” he said. “So many times when you’re on a pleasure boat, you have trouble communicating. We’ve made it easy.”

With a seating arrangement that even includes a comfortable place for sunning along the bow, there’s even a place for a spotter to sit while a skier is in tow. Students have made it simple to put on skis or prepare to ski by adding a seat at water level on the stern.

Intermarine will showcase Ocera at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show , to be held Oct. 25 through 29, 2001.