DAME Design Award winners announced

Amsterdam, Netherlands (November 15, 2022) – The DAME Design Award celebrates everything that is important about marine equipment design, from aesthetics to functionality, integration to packaging and price efficiency to lifecycle management. With judging held during the world’s largest trade exhibition for the international leisure marine industry, METSTRADE 2022, currently on in Amsterdam, winning the DAME is a big deal.

The standout DAME Design Award 2022 winner showcases best practices in design improvement. Jury Chair Andre Hoek presented the world-renowned DAME Design Award 2022 to the Ocean Signal RescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon at this morning’s METSTRADE Breakfast Briefing. Six products took Category wins, 13 more received Special Mentions and the Jury named its first Environmental Design Award.

The headline news of the compact PLB3 is its combination of an AIS man overboard device and GPS with a Cospas-Sarsat personal locator beacon, Galileo Return Link Service and incorporation of visible and infrared signal lights.

In a rescue situation speed is always of the essence and this unit provides the very best chance for survival through this blend of long- and short-range detection technologies. The design detail goes even further though, in accompanying features like the well-illustrated instruction manual and in a Near Field Communication app that enables you to test the PLB3 using your mobile telephone.

In reaching its decision, the Jury recognized that the harnessing of multiple technologies in such a small unit, attention to design in every detail and Ocean Signal’s determination to make already good products into better ones to maximize the chance of saving lives made the RescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon its standout DAME Design Award 2022 winner.

Commenting on the result, Chair of the Jury, Andre Hoek stated, “As time passes, the boundaries of products that we examine in the DAME Jury room get ever wider. This year, we assessed everything from a tiny boat and outboard tracker to a 65-tonne travel hoist.

“Whatever its size, price or complexity though, the Jury remains very focused on examining the design of products in all aspects, from function, form, environment, innovation, and price to performance. All 48 nominees are to be congratulated on meeting the scrutiny of this process.

“Our overall DAME Design Award winner is an excellent example of how you can never stop pushing to make new improvements, even in a segment of the marketplace where products are already impressively advanced in what they achieve for the size and price.”

For its first citation in this new discretionary award, the Jury chose a product that addresses a rapidly growing concern about end-of-life disposal in a world heading for batteries with everything. The Aceleron Essential is a cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate battery with replaceable and upgradeable parts. A faulty cell no longer requires the replacement of the whole battery. Returned parts are redistributed or remanufactured for second life use.

Speaking about the Jury’s decision on this award, Andre Hoek explained: “Notable iterative design steps towards a sustainable future are those we hope to highlight with this discretionary award. For that reason, we commend Aceleron’s efforts with modern battery technologies to break an unwelcome norm for whole products to be disposed of when just one component is broken.”

Each year the organizers of METSTRADE donate the combined registration fees for the DAME Design Award to a selected charity as a way of giving back to society. For 2022 the METSTRADE Exhibition Committee selected World Sailing Trust to receive the donation of €15,600. This organization’s objectives are to promote and enhance sailing in all its forms and protect the waters the sport depends on. See worldsailingtrust.org for more information.

DAME DESIGN AWARD 2O22 Overall Winner
Ocean Signal RescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon by Ocean Signal

CATEGORY WINNERS

Marine Electronics and Marine Related Software –
YachtSense Link 4G Marine Router by Raymarine

Interior Equipment, Furnishing, Materials and Electrical Fittings used in Cabins –
In accordance with the rules of the competition, the Jury did not award a winner in the Interior Equipment, Furnishing, Materials and Electrical Fittings used in Cabins category this year after carefully considering the standards presented against the level of other categories.

Marina Equipment, Boatyard Equipment and Boat Construction Tools and Materials –
MarineShift360 Lifecycle Assessment Tool by Marineshift360

Deck Equipment, Sails and Rigging –
Arya by Amare

Clothing and Crew Accessories –
Aquafleece Robe by Rooster Sailing

Lifesaving and Safety Equipment –
Ocean Signal RescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon by Ocean Signal

Machinery, Propulsion, Mechanical and Electrical Systems and Fittings – Integrel….The Next Generation by Integrel Solutions

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AWARD WINNER
Essential by Aceleron

SPECIAL MENTIONS

Marine Electronics and Marine Related Software –
IC-M510E (with AIS receiver) by Icom
MAX Mini by Sailmon

Interior Equipment, Furnishing, Materials and Electrical Fittings Used in Cabins –
In accordance with the rules of the competition, the Jury did not award a Special Mention in the Clothing and Crew Accessories category this year after carefully considering the standard against other categories.

Marina Equipment, Boatyard Equipment and Boat Construction Tools and Materials –
Aqua superPower marina fast charging system by Aqua superPower

Deck Equipment, Sails and Rigging –
FXe 4500 Electric Code Sail furler by Facnor
Karver Sharing Center by Karver Systems
KJSK – Karver Jammer Staysail Kit by Karver Systems
Rollable Boat Hook by Seaview Progress

Clothing and Crew Accessories –
X-Over Eco Cork by Forward WIP

Lifesaving and Safety Equipment –
GlobalFix V5 AIS EPIRB by ACR Electronics
Regatta Safelock by Regatta and Aalesund Protective Wear
FURIO by SECUMAR

Machinery, Propulsion, Mechanical and Electrical Systems and Fittings –
Seakeeper Ride by Seakeeper
ZF POD 4600 by ZF Group

About the DAME Design Award
The DAME Design Award celebrates everything that is important about marine equipment design, from aesthetics to functionality, integration to packaging and price efficiency to lifecycle management. It offers opportunities for all METSTRADE Show exhibitors from around the world to submit their latest products and have them judged by experts spanning all areas of design. Because of this wider focus, the DAME Design Award competition encourages the whole marine industry to continuously improve its design efforts, to the last detail. Entrants are not just judged against their global peers, but the DAME Jury recognizes improvements from year-to-year within individual companies too.

The DAME Design Award, continues to perform a vital function within the marine industry in stimulating design progression across all disciplines and product types. Great end-to-end design is vital to improve manufacturing efficiency and product reliability. It plays a developing role in environmental responsibility. It also recognises that the marine industry must match the high customer expectations set by products in other sectors like automotive and consumer electronics.

The DAME Jury 2022 can be viewed at www.metstrade.com/awards/dame-jury

The DAME Jury report can be viewed at www.metstrade.com/awards/dame-winner

DAME Design Award 2022 nominated products: www.metstrade.com/awards/nominees

About METSTRADE
METSTRADE is the world’s largest trade exhibition for equipment, materials, and systems for the international leisure marine industry. RAI Amsterdam organises it in cooperation with ICOMIA (International Council of Marine Industry Associations). The event’s target audience includes yacht builders, naval architects, refit yards, distributors, dealers, wholesalers, captains, marina owners and marine equipment manufacturers worldwide. METSTRADE 2022 will run from 15-17 November 2022 in RAI Amsterdam.