A sneak
preview of our next RM design: Katana.
Katana is an evolution of Octave, incorporating
improvements in several key areas.
The
individual changes are small, but sufficiently numerous to cumulatively warrant
a new designation.
This
decision has been made with existing customers in mind as it will give them a
clear option when placing an order. Those who have ordered recently were naturally
briefed on the upcoming transition so they could make an informed choice based on the characteristics of the two boats.
As always, we make a clear distinction between development work that we carry out in house
or in collaboration with like minded skippers, and commercial series production.
Committing
to production involves significant investment in tooling on our part and
requires a high level of confidence to guarantee a known performance profile to
the customer who does not wish to risk investing in an unproven design.
The nature
of our business is such that we are always developing and looking to the next
performance gains. We must therefore be disciplined in structuring R&D
with respect to value for money from the point of view of the customer.
There are several key tests that we apply to a new idea as it progresses from intuition, to vague notion, to sketch, to virtual model, to quantitative analysis, to prototype...
At each stage the value of the idea must stand up to tests which cover performance as well as reproducibility, cost, compatibility with existing items, durability, and especially the relationship between these key attributes.
There are several key tests that we apply to a new idea as it progresses from intuition, to vague notion, to sketch, to virtual model, to quantitative analysis, to prototype...
At each stage the value of the idea must stand up to tests which cover performance as well as reproducibility, cost, compatibility with existing items, durability, and especially the relationship between these key attributes.
Over the 18 years that we have been developing RC yachts, we have been careful to structure
development and series production accordingly, and our repeat customers are a
testament to the effectiveness of our approach.
In competitive performance applications, risk cannot be eliminated, but it should be estimated and managed.
There are always compromises to be made with respect to performance in different conditions and circumstances. We therefore make an effort to narrow the uncertainty so that we can inform the customer of the characteristics and suitability of each product.
In competitive performance applications, risk cannot be eliminated, but it should be estimated and managed.
There are always compromises to be made with respect to performance in different conditions and circumstances. We therefore make an effort to narrow the uncertainty so that we can inform the customer of the characteristics and suitability of each product.
It is
fascinating to study the overlap between the passion for that elusive perfect
design and the real world constraints of technology, cost, and commercial
consistency.
As I have stated previously, successful projects incorporate such
real constraints in the design brief and in the project management process to
create the best result in the real world.
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