The first motorboat was built in 1886 at the German shipyard Lurssen, commissioned by inventor Gottlieb Daimler, who wanted to test his new gasoline engine. The boat he created in 1886, called the Neckar, was a breakthrough in its field. No previously existing motor engine had a speed of 800 rpm.
In 1887, two well-known German inventors Wilhelm Maybach and Karl Benz designed their own motors. However, only the second one managed to demonstrate his boat in action.
At the same time, Rudolf Diesel invented and tested the first diesel engine. Diesel’s know-how consisted in the fact that not the fuel itself, but the air was compressed inside the pistons of the engine, and during the compression of the air, heat was generated, thanks to which the fuel ignited itself. The first working diesel engine was built under Diesel’s direction, by MAN.
Every year, the emergence of new developments has contributed to an increase in the power of engines, the number of their models, and the types of fuel used. Today, modern racing boats can reach speeds of over 500 km/hour.
The leading countries in the production of motor yachts are the USA, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Holland. Italy, Germany, and Holland lead the way in the superyacht and megayacht segments. In this article, we will tell you about the world leaders in the powerboat segment and take a closer look at their logos.
Sea Ray
Founded in 1959, SeaRay was the first manufacturer in the world to use fiberglass and other high-tech composite materials in the construction of recreational boats. In just 50 years, the company has grown from a small local firm to the greatest shipbuilding corporation in the world, producing over 5,000 yachts and boats each year, making it the largest manufacturer of pleasure craft in the world.
The visual identity of the company looks very modern and stylish. The badge is composed of custom cursive lettering in thick smooth bars and a graphical emblem with the SR monogram drawn in the shape of a wave.
Bayliner
Bayliner boats are famous for their quality, ergonomics, and design. The company offers a wide range of boats for every taste and for every purpose: open boats for fishing, pleasure boats for water recreation, cruising cabin boats for comfortable water travel, and tug boats for wakeboarding and water skiing.
The Bayliner logo is a perfect representation of a modern boat manufacturer, which confidently looks into the future. The simplicity of the uppercase sans-serif wordmark is balanced by the elegance yet progressiveness of the light blue emblem, made of two ribbons, placed one above another, creating a schematic B shape.
Yamaha
Yamaha is one of the most recognizable names not only in motorcycles and musical instruments but also in the powerboat segment. Yamaha outboard motors have unsurpassed reliability and real Japanese quality multiplied by the most advanced technologies. All this makes the company a world leader in the production of outboard motors for boats of different purposes.
The iconic Yamaha logo was introduced in 1927, and today is used by both the parent Yamaha Corporation and its subsidiary Yamaha Motor Company. It represents 3 tuning pins in a circle and the name of the company’s founder written in Latin. The difference is that the Yamaha Corporation has the tuners inscribed in the circle, while the Yamaha Motor Company has them crossing the circle.
Chaparral
Chaparral is America’s most popular powerboat manufacturer. They have been recognized 29 times as the best boats of the year by the US Consumer Society. And they have broken the record of buyer’s sympathy in the world: since its foundation, the shipyard has sold more than 250 thousand boats and motorboats.
The Chaparral visual identity represents the company’s main peculiarity — its special hull ergonomics with sleek, honed contours and utilitarian design. The speed of the boats is depicted in the brand’s emblem with a minimalistic drawing of a flying bird’s head inscribed into an oval frame.
Regal
Regal is another American company that has been manufacturing sport and pleasure boats for over a century. Regal boats are popular not only among users who appreciate quality and comfort but also among professionals. Striving to satisfy the wishes of different categories of customers, Regal creates boats of different sizes: from compact models to large-sized, weighty conquerors of ocean and sea waters.
One of the most elegant insignias in the boat manufacturers segment is definitely the logo of Regal. The composition is based on an extended futuristic lettering set in the uppercase of a designer sans-serif font, and a sleek abstract emblem, made of a stylized capital “R”, looking like a luxury car badge.
Four Winns
The American shipyard Four Winns is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fast boats and motor yachts with original hull design and a lifetime guarantee of hull integrity. It was founded in 1962 under the name Safe-T-Mate Boats as a family business producing elegant and durable fiberglass boats. In 1975, after the Winn family acquired the company, the company changed its name to Four Winns.
Four Winns is a company with quite a traditional and even simple visual identity. The logo of the brand consists of a serif uppercase lettering, written in medium-thick bars with sharp curved ends and tiny triangular serifs; and a laconic emblem, depicting a waving flag formed of four solid blue stripes.
Cobalt
Cobalt Boats has been building top-of-the-line boats and yachts for decades and is one of the clear market leaders in this segment. Unlike other manufacturers, Cobalt builds most of the parts they use in their own factory. It all started in 1968 in the state of Kansas when University of Kansas soccer star and huge boat enthusiast Peck St. Clair decided to produce the boat of his dreams. So the fiberglass factory owned by his family began producing boats.
In terms of visual identity, Cobalt is a Rolls-Royce of the motorboat industry. The sophisticated curved “C” is written in solid black lines and placed inside a stylized horizontally stretched wreath, set above the stable uppercase inscription executed in a fancy serif typeface.
Monterey
Monterey was founded in the USA in 1985 as a small family business by the Marshall brothers and quickly, in a relatively short period, became a worthy competitor to more experienced manufacturers of pleasure boats and yachts. The Monterey shipyard’s main focus has been the development of high-quality speed boats and reliable cruisers with a high level of comfort.
The logo of the Monterey brand is sharp and confident, with its stylized “M” emblem, looking more like a mountain peak. The slanted uppercase inscription in a geometric sans-serif typeface looks neat, yet at the same time evokes a sense of motion and speed.
Lund
Lund Boat Company was founded in 1948 by Howard Lund and in its more than sixty-year history has become one of the market leaders in fishing boats, producing 12 thousand hulls per year. Today, Lund is a division of Brunswick Corporation, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of boats, runabouts, and boat engines and is one of the world’s 500 largest companies.
The visual identity of Lund is somewhat very interesting yet pretty simple. The badge of the company only has one element — the lettering. But it is executed in an extra-bold font with heavy bars, softened angles, and short straight serifs. Another thing here is the arched bottom line of the inscription, which only elevates the “smoothness” of the composition.
Tracker
Tracker Boats is an American company that has in its arsenal of offers for fishing enthusiasts with a variety of requests. The model range includes boats with different designs, dimensions, and technical characteristics. In short, everyone will find a model suitable for their taste and wallet. In 2009 Tracker Boats was honored with a prestigious award from the American National Marine Manufacturers Association.
Tracker Boats is a company with quite a simple visual identity, executed in a powerful black, white, and red color palette and based on clean geometric shapes. The name of the brand is written in a slanted sans-serif font and accompanied by a thick red underline.
