MAHOGANY SYMPHONY 07/22/08

Words :: Tuija Seipell // Images :: Chris Casparis

Strangely — or perhaps not — Sea Sonic’s mahogany power boats turn people’s thoughts to musical instruments, to slits up the sides of evening gowns, to sculpture. Undeniably, in their subtle fusion of design, craftsmanship, prestige and power, these boats exude a classic, restrained sex appeal. You want to touch them, stare at them, know everything about them.
Sounds like love, doesn’t it?
Sea Sonic founder and designer, Chris Casparis, who builds only one of the beauties each year by hand, is perhaps the least romantic of all in his description. He is definitely passionate about his two roundabout-size models — the 8.5-metre (28.6-foot) flagship Sea Sonic Centaur and the new addition, the 7.16-metre (23.6-foot) Sea Sonic Sirena, but he is not prone to dreamy allegory. However, in conversation even he refers to them as “functional pieces of art, like pianos on waves tuned perfectly for the owner and for the waves.”
Industrial designer Don Cleland echoes the sentiment, reacting to images of the boats. “They make me think of a musical instrument crafted with inlays of exotic wood and mother-of-pearl,” says Cleland who is Director of 3D Design at Vancouver-based branding firm, dossiercreative inc. “I see quality and craftsmanship with all the wood. It is joinery on a sculptural level. I also see speed and power. Although the boats have vintage cues, they appear timeless. They’ll probably age beautifully, like an instrument, becoming richer over time.”
Casparis discovered the vintage cues when he was growing up in Switzerland’s lake region of Zurich. He learned to appreciate classic European mahogany boats, which lead to six years of apprenticeship training in wood furniture and boat building.

For the Full Article, Pick up Issue 9 +

Pictures:

Details:

Author's name spelling error in print version.