DAME Design Awards 2025 announced

This was a year in which several of the 2025 DAME Design Awards category winners were in close contention to take the top prize. Winners were announced at the 2025 Metstrade Official Opening. The DAME Design Awards’s international jury this year comprised 11 leading design and user experts, with a wide range of perspectives covering key leisure marine and superyacht activities. After initial scrutiny of online entries over two weeks, the jury gathered in a purpose-built facility at RAI Amsterdam for hands-on assessment and detailed discussions.

For the second year in succession the jury featured a guest student member and welcomed recent product design graduate Scarlett Harris onto the team. The jury’s expertise was further boosted by the addition of Alexandra Foineau Oakley, benefiting from her broad range of experience spanning equipment distribution, manufacturing and boat product management.

Despite the strong line-up of alternates and a close debate for the top prize, the Jury kept revisiting LXNAV’s E360 chartplotter. The appeal of this entry included its easily integrated compact, cohesive design, matched by an intuitive user interface, broad range of functions and responsive screen.

The E360 is a 4in (102mm) round touchscreen multi-function display that features the ability to display a wide range of NMEA 2000 data. It is supplied with preloaded OpenSeaMap charts, offers Navionics compatibility via SD card and has built-in Fusion music control. The E360 is waterproof to IPX6 and includes built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. It offers high levels of user customisation for displayed data and alert thresholds.

LXNAV is a Slovenian manufacturer that made its name over the past decade creating high-performance instruments for gliders. The Jury was intrigued to see the E360 bringing aviation design expertise to the company’s emerging marine products, at a market realistic price. It also praised the E360’s optional car-style NMEA 2000 connected jog wheel controller.

Andre Hoek, Chair of the DAME jury, was sadly unable to be present for the two-day jury meeting due to an unforeseen medical issue from which he has now thankfully fully recovered.

Patrick Hemp, Technical Director for the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), kindly stepped in as Acting Chair and observed, “The Jury had the unprecedented task of assessing 146 products this year. Each judge was acutely aware of the effort and investment that sat behind every product that we considered, whether complex or seemingly simple.

“There is welcome evidence that the industry is not satisfied with status quo. The DAME Design Awards doesn’t solely reward altogether new and previously unseen concepts. Encouraging and highlighting iterative design improvement is also at the core of its objectives and many of this year’s nominated products are improved designs of what has gone before. In some cases, we could see clear evidence of manufacturers taking higher technology, expensive solutions from sectors such as superyachting and extreme yacht racing and bringing them to a broader user base at appropriately sized and priced packages. That’s a very welcome trend. Another obvious trend is the ongoing shift towards minimising the consumption of power. With the increasingly heavier reliance on electricity onboard, squeezing the most efficiency from every amp is an imperative now.

“It’s also clear that market changing design is being delivered by a broad variety of marine equipment businesses. We expect the industry’s long-established names to deliver products that propel the industry forward – and momentum from established companies has certainly picked up again in this year’s awards. However new market entrants and startups are also making their mark. Our DAME Design Awards overall winner is a great example, as are the nominations for no less than five Metstrade and Superyacht Startup exhibitors, three of whom claimed well deserved Special Mentions.

“We wish to commend every company that put their products forward in this record-breaking year, congratulate all who attained the very notable achievement of nomination against such a large field and salute those who have claimed the honours highlighted in this report.”

The DAME Design Awards is organized, fully funded and hosted by Metstrade. All entry fees each year are donated to a charity selected by the Metstrade Exhibition Committee. A record €21,900 was donated to The Ocean Conservation Trust at the show’s Opening Ceremony.

The Ocean Conservation Trust was founded to restore and protect the seas upon which we all enjoy our recreation and rely on our living. Its focus is on pro-ocean behavior and habitat restoration, centered around people and positive action. It inspires ocean advocacy through connections with nature, combined with its ground-breaking work protecting and restoring vital ocean habitats. Ocean Conservation Trust’s team of marine biologists, educators, communicators, researchers, ecologists, oceanographers and divers are ocean optimists. They work tirelessly to connect people to the ocean and influence pro-ocean behavior.

The names of all the DAME Design Awards 2O25 winners and shortlisted entrants are shown below. Please visit damedesignawards.com to see the full Jury Report with information on the winning entries and insights on why they won.

DAME Design awards 2O25 overall winner
LXNAV E360 Round Chartplotter

Category Winners

Personal Equipment
FLIR Ocean Scout Pro

Onboard Facilities, Comfort & Entertainment
Dometic CSX Refrigeration System

Navigation & Communication
LXNAV E360 Round Chartplotter

Electronic & Electrical Systems
Simarine SAC15R – NMEA 2000 Smart AC Distribution Unit

Propulsion & Dynamics
Dometic DG3 Gyro

Deck Equipment
Softstep by One Palma

Safety & Security Aboard
Garmin OnBoard™ System

Manufacturing, Support Products & Materials
Supersede Marine Board

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AWARD WINNERS
ONE Palma IFS Multi Tradewind Sail
Digital Yacht BILGE IQ

Special Mentions

Personal Equipment
Henri-Lloyd Ocean Pro
Zhik X Range Hiking Boots and Carbon Insole

Onboard Facilities, Comfort & Entertainment
Brand ID Smartdeck™ HEAT
Dometic Sanitation Wall Holding Tank Series with VacuMAX Technology
maglassX PORTOFINO BLACK magnetic lamp

Navigation & Communication
Avikus NEUBOAT Dock II
SEA.AI WATCHKEEPER

Electronic & Electrical Systems
AS Labruna VOLTAB
LightGraphix LD1093Z

Propulsion & Dynamics
Marlic 3520 Hydraulic Steering Cylinder
ZF POD 4900

Deck Equipment
Seldén Ratchet for CXr Code furler
Linnext TENDER-REST Dinghy-Chocks

Safety & Security Aboard
Digital Yacht BILGE IQ
Sensar Marine Expansion Hub

Manufacturing, Support Products & Materials
Effetto Venturi GiPSy-mini
Fastmount VL-PF3 Recessed Mount Acoustic Clip
Sace Components CorkMood

DAME Jury 2025:

• Andre Hoek (Chair), naval architect and yacht designer, founder of Hoek Design and Hoek Brokerage, The Netherlands (not able to participate in the jury days for medical reasons)
• Patrick Hemp (Acting Chair), Technical Director, International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), South Africa
• Davide Cipriani, boat and industrial designer, president of yacht design at Centrostiledesign, Italy
• Rory Coase, yacht designer, Coase Design, Norway
• Scarlett Harris, guest student jury member for 2025, First-Class Honours degree in BSc Product Design, Bournemouth University, UK
• Arjen Jansen, senior lecturer, school for Industrial Design Engineering at TUDelft, The Netherlands
• Amy Munroe, sustainability consultant, Foxall Munro, UK (attended remotely)
• Alexandra Foineau Oakley, yacht surveyor, France
• Olivier Racoupeau, naval architect and boat designer, founder and owner of Berret Racoupeau Yachts, France
• Klaus Roeder, yacht designer and surveyor, Germany
• Ben Stein, editor of Panbo marine electronics hub, USA

DAME categories:

Personal Equipment
If I was going on a charter, had a yacht share arrangement, went boating with a friend, or had my own boat, what would my personal kit be?

Onboard Facilities, Comfort & Entertainment
If I don’t want to go afloat in a bare hull, what kinds of equipment and components am I likely to need to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of all afloat?

Navigation & Communication
If I were on the helm of a boat or bridge of a superyacht, what electronics and other equipment would I use to control and safely navigate it?

Electronic & Electrical Systems
If I need electrical power anywhere in the yacht or to make networkable devices speak to each other, what systems and equipment would I use?

Propulsion & Dynamics
If I want to move, steer, stabilise, trim and fly my yacht, what machinery and systems will I use?

Deck Equipment
If I am sailing, mooring, anchoring, and using my yacht’s outdoor spaces, what hardware and equipment will I use?

Safety & Security Aboard
What equipment belongs to my yacht to keep it safe and capable of dealing with emergencies afloat?

Manufacturing, Support Products & Materials
What are the cradle to the grave items of equipment, materials, media, software and other products that construct and support my yacht and its gear?

Source: Metstrade