July 13, 2006

Interview with the Designer of the Super Air Nautique 220, Correct Craft's Steve Carlton

Since the unveiling of the Super Air Nautique 220 late last summer - there have been many opinions voiced, many praises made, and some criticisms offered; while the person who writes for this site has tried his best to keep an open mind about the boat. Presently there is growing evidence that this boat will be continued for another production year so this was not a one-off, and as a fan of the trend towards larger wake boats I think I may officially have turned my neutrally, non-pointing, once horizontal thumbs, upward. I never really disliked the Super Air Nautique 220, I just didn't fully understand it.

Since I almost always (unfortunately, perhaps) start with the aesthetics of boats - of course this is just my opinion, but the yellow and black Super Air Nautique 220 may not have been the right color combination with which to go public. I recently saw the above-right photo of a brand new Super Air Nautique 220 and fully turned the corner on the boat, from a strictly visual standpoint. I think it just looks better without the black hull - and allows it to appear more unmistakably Correct Craft, so I unmistakably am more drawn to it. The lighter color combinations and white hull in general, really go the distance in terms of making this boat look big, beautiful and Correct Craft-styled. The higher freeboard and, less the "Super Air Nautique" logo which one could peel off anyway, arguably conservative external appearance are also signature Correct Craft design elements. I love conservative in my boats! And before you say that this boat is not somewhat conservatively styled, please take into consideration the offerings from other manufacturers for the 2006-2007 model year.

So I asked myself why I was not more interested in this new offering from Correct Craft - and realized it was because I have not seen a large amount of photos of people in and about their Super Air Nautique 220's. Also, both of my boat show visits to research the boat more formally proved somewhat useless because any boat is going to seem cavernous with just me in it. Digging deeper, I realized that I don't know anything about boats; at least not as much as Correct Craft, and they are the ones that decided to ditch the proven wraparound seating and create something entirely new.

I can only assume that there are many people out there that don't understand why the boat was configured in the way that it was, and where it fits within Correct Craft's lineup. For that reason I got in contact with Correct Craft headquarters again, and asked to speak with someone involved with the design of the 220 - specifically its interior. Correct Craft not only allowed this interview to take place, but they put me in touch with their Chief Designer, Steve Carlton.

The Interview:

EJ - What boats have you designed, prior to the Super Air Nautique 220?
SC - I was responsible for the 226 and 211, but I am involved with parts of all the other boats in the lineup.

EJ - How long does the full development process take - from inception of a design, all the way through to creation of the first prototype.
SC - The initial sketches for this boat were completed about 2 years before the first 220 hit the test lake. This was a very different boat, and thus had a much longer development cycle than is normally needed. Also, there were many people and departments involved - from Engineering and Tooling, to Marketing, Sales and all the way to the dealers. Throughout the development cycle, changes were made to address the concerns that were deemed appropriate, but the final product turned out very close to the initial concepts.

EJ - Was the hull, or for that matter - any part of the 220 loosely based on any other current Correct Craft offering? I ask because the 220 is unmistakably a Correct Craft - beautiful - yet is almost entirely comprised of new-for-2006 components.
SC - We used certain portions of each successful boat, but this is truly a new hull. Its' hull shares certain distant similarities with the hulls of the 211/226 but if you take a close look, is unique. We looked at portions of every boat and hand-picked the portions that made the most sense.

EJ - Why isn't there a "family" or non-Air version of the 220?
SC - The 220 is a wakeboarding boat and a wakeboarding boat specifically - and was built as such. For example, if you look at the deck, you will see little recessed pockets where the tower is mounted. That should give you the idea that we knew that this boat would never be delivered without a tower, and didn't want there to be any confusion about it. By contrast, we can build non-air versions of other models and later convert them at the dealership when necessary.

EJ - Since you hold a high position at Correct Craft, are you an 'approver' or do really you spend time in front of CAD software and clay models?
SC - I would never claim to be responsible for every part of this process. We have an extraordinary engineering and proto group that convert dreams to reality. But I am responsible for the overall vision, and spend a lot of my time creating concepts, and then in presenting the ideas contained in these concepts. In the initial stages I spend a lot of time designing, working with clay models, and in our CAD environments. I am very hands on and spend a lot of time making sure that the boats carry that same initial vision - from concept to engineering, all the way to the first working prototype. I have 2 Assistant Designers that help me out with the design process as well.

EJ - What was wraparound seating lacking, that made you seek to design something else for the Super Air Nautique 220, and why do you believe it is better to have this configuration?
SC - In one of our first trials with a group of professional wakeboarders, we took Scott Byerly out on a 220. We had 9 people on the boat, and Scott was amazed at the fact that there was room for everyone, and with all the nooks & crannies and storage locations, there was room for all of their gear as well. Scott was impressed that people were not bumping into each other and sitting on top of one another. We paid close attention to where people's legs would be, once their butt was in a seat. This is overlooked with many boats, but is a real concern and we addressed it with the seating options in the 220.

This boat can be configured in several different ways as many people know, but there are a few "recommended" configurations which suit the boat best. There is a perception that the interior of the boat is broken up, but there is a reason for each moving element of the seating system. Occasionally the boat is displayed at a dealership or at a boat show that does not properly demonstrate the flexibility of this system.

The whole boat is very comfortable. Its seating system is designed in a way that corrects for the boats' angle when it is running at wakeboarding speed; the leanback portions of the seats are designed to allow for the perfect angle while watching the rider.

EJ - When Correct Craft opens the new factory to the public, would nerds like me be able to tour the parts of the factory - where the clay models are created and so on?
SC - Certainly there will be portions of the production end of the factory which will be made available. We are still working on what will, and what will not be, open to the public and made part of the factory tours.

And that was how it went. I put together the above series of questions and attempted to be professional and stick to the plan, but unfortunately the eager boat nerd enthusiast in me came out and I couldn't help but ask a few questions of my own that have almost nothing to do with helping people understand the Super Air Nautique 220 more completely. It was just so interesting to talk with someone who gets to design Correct Craft boats for a living. I will be visiting their new factory when it opens, and I will detail the tour on The Wakeboard Report. I had a great conversation with Steve Carlton, and I really appreciate the time he spent speaking to me and I thank Correct Craft for again allowing me to interview one of their finest.

Posted by erik