Welcome to Engineer Academy where weβre exploring an A to Z of Engineering β everything from acoustics to zoos.
In each episode, we spin the wheel to find out what type of engineering weβll be exploring with the help of Engers, our engineering expert.
You can listen to the full series of the A to Z of Engineering here.
Letβs take a look at Yacht Engineering.
So, what is a yacht? Well, itβs a type of boat designed for sailing and racing. Most yachts are around 10 to 30 metres in length β but some are much bigger. The worldβs largest is called Azzam and is a whopping 180 metres long. Unlike ferries or container ships, theyβre not designed to carry hundreds of people or heavy cargo. Most are powered by sails, although others, especially larger yachts, are powered by motors. As you can imagine, engineering is key in the design and maintenance of yachts.
People have known for thousands of years how to move a boat by catching the wind with sails, but it wasn’t until the 17th century when the Dutch invented what we now know as yachts – small nimble crafts that could see off pirates! Did you know that many sailing superstitions from those days are still believed. Bananas are considered to be unlucky to take on board β and you must always step on to a boat with your right foot. Oh – and always look after the shipβs cat!
And looking after things is right at the heart of what yacht engineers do. They need to be able to maintain and repair pretty much everything onboard β and often when miles out at sea. That might be mechanical things like the engineβ¦
Or the electrical system which powers the lighting, heating and computer systemsβ¦
And not forgetting the hydraulicsβ¦ oh, and the structure of the yacht itself. Overall, itβs quite a big job!
Small yachts generally only need the services of an engineer when repairs or maintenance is needed, like to clean and treat the hull or replace a damaged mast.
Larger yachts, especially super and mega yachts, have much greater need for an engineer – or even a team of engineers to ensure the safe running of the vessel. Some of the worldβs biggest yachts are almost like villages, with gyms, swimming pools and helipads, so you can imagine a team of engineers with a variety of skills is needed to keep everything plain sailing.
So if you fancy taking to the high seas and working in a team as a yacht engineer – what sort of skills would you need?
As weβve seen, thereβs a lot of different types of engineering to be done on a yacht so you might be working as a mechanical engineer in the engine room, an electrical engineer maintaining computer systems, or perhaps youβre skilled at fixing the plumbingβ¦
Well, someone has to! As well as studying engineering, whatβs critical to all roles is a keen eye for planning, and great organisation and project management skills. You need these skills in part to plan and carry out meticulous maintenance – this is crucial because itβs important to prevent problems from happening – putting things right and making repairs can be difficult if youβre miles from land and nowhere near supplies. You canβt exactly get a part delivered if youβre in the middle of the Atlantic.
Maintenance also involves keeping careful records of whatβs been done and keep tabs on supplies and spare parts. So if youβre all about detail and enjoy keeping things running smoothly – why not take to the sea! Oh! And youβll need to not get seasick too!
Yachts are great fun and can be incredibly luxurious but of course the sea can be a very dangerous place. And then of course thereβs other challenges that arenβt life threatening – guests on a mega yacht might be very demanding if the gym doesnβt work
And thatβs our take on the letter Y β itβs been umβ¦. Yabadabadoo!
If you would like to check out some other types of engineering, why not check out Yarn Textile, Yard or Yield engineering!
Join us again next time to spin the wheel and explore another letter in the A to Z of Engineering!
And if you would like to know more about the design and technology of ships, check out Seanβs Ships.
