Thorne Design

02/09/2026

Electric Boat of the Year 2026 🏆

The ESEA F800 has been named Electric Boat of the Year at HISWA te Water.

Thorne Yacht Design is proud to have been part of the team behind this 8-metre all-electric day boat, responsible for the naval architecture.

Following on-water trials, the jury highlighted the F800’s handling, speed and near-silent propulsion.
A fantastic result for ESEA and the whole team behind the F800.

⚓ ESEA Boats
✏️ Exterior Design: Michael Leach Yacht Design
📐 Naval Architecture: Thorne Yacht Design
🛠️ Builder: Vaxholm Komposit AB

Congratulations to everyone involved.

HISWATeWater

02/09/2026

Electric Boat of the Year 2026.

Congratulations to Esea Boats on the F800 being named Electric Boat of the Year at the Hiswa te Water Boat of the Year Awards.

Thorne Yacht Design is proud to have been part of the team behind the F800, responsible for the naval architecture of this 8-metre all-electric day boat. Following on-water trials, the HISWA jury praised the F800’s handling, speed and near-silent propulsion, concluding:

“Design, silence, speed, and boating pleasure come together convincingly.”

Developed around electric propulsion from the outset, the F800 brings together naval architecture, design and technology to create a boat focused on efficiency without compromising the experience on the water.

A fantastic result for ESEA and everyone involved in bringing the F800 to life, including Michael Leach Yacht Design and


Congratulations to the whole team.

25/08/2026

722 Tenders for Leviathan built by Oceanco in their natural environment.

While much of the work happens behind the scenes, it's always satisfying to see a project progress from drawings and engineering reviews to a finished product on the water.

Proud to have contributed to this exceptional build alongside the wider project team.

20/08/2026

As electric propulsion continues to mature, the conversation is often dominated by batteries, charging infrastructure and motor technology. Yet one of the biggest influences on performance lies beneath the waterline.

Hull design determines how efficiently a boat moves through the water, directly affecting range, handling and the overall experience onboard. Designing an electric boat isn't simply a case of replacing an engine with batteries. The entire platform needs to be developed around the propulsion system from the outset.

The ESEA F800 demonstrates this approach. Designed as a fully electric platform from day one, the project focused on refining hull geometry, weight distribution and structural efficiency through multiple iterations of computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

The result is a boat that makes better use of every available kilowatt without compromising practicality or usability.

As electric propulsion evolves, the greatest gains will continue to come from integrating naval architecture and propulsion as a single design process, rather than treating them as separate disciplines.

13/08/2026

It's always satisfying to see months of engineering work begin to take physical shape.

The first Crooze Yachts is now progressing through construction, marking an important milestone for a project that has brought together naval architecture, structural engineering and production engineering from the earliest stages of development.

Electric boats demand a different design approach. Battery systems influence weight distribution, structural design and internal layout in ways that simply don't exist on conventional powerboats. Every decision has a direct impact on efficiency, range and performance.

Working alongside the Crooze team, our role has been to develop a production-ready platform engineered specifically for electric propulsion. Seeing the first hull emerge from the workshop is a reminder that every successful build begins long before construction starts.

We look forward to sharing more as the project progresses.

06/08/2026

It's great to see the story behind our client VMG Trimarans featured in Forbes.

The article explores how American entrepreneur Mike Schwartz and multihull specialist Karl Reed turned a shared vision for a new generation of offshore performance trimarans into reality, bringing together an international team of designers, engineers and builders to deliver the project.

Thorne Design is proud to be part of that team, providing technical integration, deck equipment and systems engineering alongside VPLP Design, Christophe Chedal Anglay and Evolution Marine Manufacturing.

Congratulations to Mike, Karl and everyone involved in the project on the well-deserved recognition. The full article is well worth a read.

The VMG 53 is a new 53-foot high performance cruising trimaran designed in partnership with legendary VPLP Design

30/07/2026

Ten years of Thorne Design

Over the past decade, one of the things we've enjoyed most is the variety of projects our team have been entrusted with. A lightweight electric day boat poses different questions than a performance catamaran. Similarly, a superyacht tender prioritises different aspects compared to a production powerboat. Each project comes with its own clients, constraints, and ambitions.

We do not approach any two projects with a template. Each program requires its own balance of performance, structure, systems, and buildability, tailored to how the boat will actually be used. Reflecting on our past projects reminds us that good engineering is not about applying the same solution repeatedly.

It’s about understanding the problem first. This principle has been our guiding constant throughout our first ten years and continues to shape every project that follows.