Evolution In Yacht Design with Patrick Knowles

Yacht interiors are changing fast, but not always in the ways people assume. From the Palm Beach International Boat Show, host Kristina Hebert sits down with Patrick Knowles of Patrick Knowles Design to unpack what “evolution” really looks like in marine interior design, superyacht refits, and high-end aviation work. They talk about the early days of on-site craftsmanship, why build timelines still run into human limits, and how today’s expectations are shaped less by shipyards and more by screens.

Patrick shares how photorealistic rendering, 3D visualization, and AI-driven tools transform client communication. When an interior concept looks finished before the first piece is installed, feedback gets faster, revisions get easier, and the “Amazon effect” of impatience can creep in. The conversation explores how to set healthy boundaries by separating what can move quickly from what is constrained by the realities of engineering, procurement, and installation.

The duo goes deep on designing for the unseen: electrical planning, intuitive lighting design, concealed outlets and charging, and why the owner’s lifestyle should influence load analysis and power management. From hybrid yacht conversations to the idea of blending art and machinery, the takeaway is simple: the best onboard experience comes from teams that share context, not silos that trade blame.

Finally, they get into Patrick’s pandemic pivot into The Quintessential Yachtsman and Yachtlife Brands, including Yachtlife Vodka and Yachtlife Caviar, plus how branding and activations can invite new people into the yachting industry. If you care about yacht design trends, luxury branding, and the future of marine trades, hit subscribe, share this with someone in the industry, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.

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https://www.wardsmarine.com/

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Transcript

Welcome From The Boat Show

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Welcome to the Ward's Way Podcast. We're here today for the International Boat Show and Patrick Mills of Patrick Knowles Design. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Yes, Christina. Thank you for having me. I know that we've talked about this for a while.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

We have, and I'm so happy that you had the time to sit with me. Now, I am going to go back a little bit in time when we first met and and had an opportunity. I was newly getting into the industry. I think you had newly started your own private um business, and we were on a website committee.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Oh, we've come a website committee. A website committee.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

For a not-for-profit. And I remember we were really, you know, feeling like we were the tech people.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

That was big business.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

That was big business. I remember. Early 2000, and it was for the Marine Industries Association, and now here we are at podcasts and the talk about evolution. Evolution. So that's going to be the theme. Yes. So how does that work with interior design? My goodness, that's got to have been an amazing journey, but challenging.

From Aviation To Yacht Design

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Yes. Yes, when I started my career, I started my career in design in 1985.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

And then I entered the marine industry after being in the aviation industry. I entered the marine industry.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

How did that happen? Sorry to interrupt. How did you go from aviation? Was it a client?

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Was it a uh no, it was a vendor actually that that had um we were working on a project, and he had mentioned that there was a a yacht design company that could use my expertise, and um then I started to think about that, but then there was another caveat to it, is that I was uh working actually at another company and I I visited home and one of my uh brothers, I have six of them, and one named Brian. Um I was just telling him that I really wasn't satisfied with my job, and he asked me um what would I like to do? And he happened to know the financial investor of the American yacht design firm, and he had given me his name and said, call them and mention this name, and I did when I got back into town, and I was sitting at the desk within three weeks. I was hired because it was almost serendipitous. It was very serendipitous. So that's how I ended up in the marine design or the marine industry. And then uh I had formed a partnership, um, Merritt Knowles uh Designs, which was in 1989, excuse me, 19 uh 83. And uh that lasted for six years, and then I started my eponymous company, Patrick Knowles Design, in 1999. That's interesting. And so, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

That's a great journey, and then yeah, we ended it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

27 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Well, congratulations on that.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

And and here it is, and nothing to be compared, which I'm sure we will get into at some point. Your uh your your segue into the industry and how far that goes.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Well, you're first generation and I'm third. So that's just a matter of time.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

It is, it is everything is. Uh hopefully. Yes. Hopefully.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

So so how was that transition and and you still do aviation, but only for your yachting clients?

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Uh or or do you do both? Um I do both. I do. Um we do solicit business out of the yacht and industry for aviation. Uh, and we do residential primarily for yachting and aviation clients. Um, but uh when I started in the industry, um it things were so incredibly different, and um we didn't have copies sold uh at that time for the most part, uh where we would build and fabricate off site. So everything was very um artesianal.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Uh everything was done by hand, and I'm sure you remember these days. You have carpenters in there actually making the cabinet that's going to go in in whether it's the state room, the salon, uh, it was that hands-on in 1989.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Did that make it slower or faster? Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

You know, interesting, and I may be wrong on this, but uh in the uh advent of industrial design, um man has really not accelerated the time it takes to build a skyscraper, but beyond what it took to build the Empire State Building. And when you think about that, if you revise a a drone, um you could do it instantly and you can deliver it instantly. Back in the days of the Empire State Building, that was done manually and it was sent by snail mail. FedEx didn't exist then. So when you think about things being compressed with technology, um technology has its limitations, but you know we're the human factor and humans can only move so fast. So uh to answer that question, um not really, not really. I think we're still copacetic with that timeline. There are other efficiencies, but I I do not realize yachts being built and interiors being able to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

I would agree from an electrical perspective as well. Same, same.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Interesting, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 4:53

It is, it is. So I think it just means that it takes time. The other thing that I think technology gives us an opportunity to perhaps view more details.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

And so maybe there's more work going into that same amount of time, but there there's a tremendous amount of evolution

Handmade Interiors And Build Reality

SPEAKER_02 5:10

in in these yachts, and that has to have impacted your designs.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

It it it has, it has on on many different levels. Um one and I would I would touch on one specifically because it's such a um um a lightning rod in society now. And um I was being interviewed uh for another uh article, and um I had mentioned that first and foremost we're vi we're visual beings, right? So we we eat a lot through our eyes. And um people have become very aware of their uh aesthetic environment and their aesthetic position. To give you an example, um when I started in the industry, um you had uh men who would um sometimes delegate uh the design uh to the wife. Not always, I'm not generalizing, but it wasn't unusual for a design firm for the point of contact to be the missus, right? Um today, um the men are more engaged, they're they're more particular of how does it feel, how does it look, what's the texture, what's the color. And you see that through society. You see that everyone is not fixated, but very much aware of the aesthetic value and the aesthetic factor. We see it in real estate, we see it in curbside appeal, we see it in fashion, we see it in cars. So the the currency, I would say, of the aesthetic value uh has become very huge. So I would start on how has uh AI impacted um our business from the aesthetic, the number one, right? And uh communication is um very, very elevated, very advanced, advanced in the sense of with speed. And um so we've been producing quite a bit uh lately. I've always been into what we used to call the photorealistic renderings, right? This is before they became videos. And I remember there was a yacht that I did called Blind Date. Okay. And I think we did that back in 2008, and I hired a company that I still work with, uh, 3DViz, um JP Magnano. I hope you don't mind that I mentioned, but to this day we're still um working together. That's what we're doing. But we'd look back at the first time that we produced, we had a client because we've always been trying to exercise that tool, and so we finally had a client, and he said, let's do it. So that had to be exciting. It was very exciting because it gave us an opportunity to communicate and to display our work in a presentation standpoint in a totally different venue or in a totally different capacity. So we did it, and everyone was amazed, and when we started presenting these images, um the first uh comments were are these is the boat built already? And so because people didn't know it. We were on the cutting edge. At that point, going back in that time, we were doing 3D printing back in that time. So we were always pretty much that was very much ahead of game and and that's a whole different um story in of itself. But to wrap this up, when we look at those images now, we just laugh. I mean, it's just so comical, they look pretty much elementary, right? Um today, we're producing graphics that my team that produces them in-house is constantly saying, come here, look at the computer. You have to see what we're doing. And you know, it's moving at a speed that um I'm having a hard time keeping up with in the sense that a project that we're being um interviewed for, we were sitting on the boat, we went to do our first assessment, we were sitting around the dining salon table, and we were speaking about the first initial presentation to the owner, which is going to come up in about 30 days. And I started speaking about what I what I know, which is only from a month, a month and a half ago, and they're telling me, no, we're not doing that now, we're doing the take a look at this, this is what we're doing now. Okay. So, really, Christina, it's um moving at a speed that even for someone who is actively immersed in using these tools, if I stood still, like for those six weeks, I am now being re-educated by my team. And that's exhilarating, but it's also a bit frightening because um you when when any whenever anything has a lot of power, whether that's a car or a boat, you quickly realize what that power is in your hand

AI Renderings And Faster Feedback

SPEAKER_00 9:50

or in your foot, and you realize, you begin to calibrate that whoa, you know, this is a little bit too much for me, or you know, that sort of thing. And so that's what we're finding is technology, is we're having that sort of reaction that how are we going to calibrate how we use it, to which extent can we capitalize on it, um, at which extent and at which level. And that's a learning curve, but I don't know if we will ever get ahead of the curve with all of the technology that's coming uh down the pike. So uh it's it's exciting.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

It it does sound it. I have like 16 questions that I, you know, and unfortunately we're not in our 20s anymore, so I'm not sure I'll remember them. But number one, I like that you're excited about these challenges, and I find myself as well, and sometimes I think our age group is is pigeon-holed as you know, we're not embracing technology, and I feel the same. If if I can find a tool that can really wow a customer, which I'm definitely gonna segue into something next, um, that that's why not use that tool and and and something that we can be able to show your passion and share the project and and get them to understand your vision, I can only imagine, makes you like, oh, they're gonna see it the way I see it, and and they don't have to wait for it to be done. The contrary to that is like you just said, because it can be done quickly, then people feel like they have the right to completely change their minds all the time. Has that been a challenge too, that because the impossible can be possible, does that offer too many opportunities to change because you can change or it it most certainly does.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

And I think that um you fall into the Amazon effect, which used to be the Walmart effect, and that is um it's here, it's available, you can have it now. And uh we've become to a degree um as a society in general, we've become impatient, uh, especially when it comes to accepting reality. So uh yes, that has been a um a a negative, not negative, but that's been a byproduct of of having the technology that's moving so fast.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

It's not necessarily a negative, but it can impact that ultimate timeline, is what we were talking about. And if you're if if the technology was supposed to shrink the timeline, it's not necessarily doing that, but maybe shrinking the timeline isn't our ultimate goal.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

No, and actually we don't use it for shrinking the timeline. We use it for clarity and communication, and communication is very difficult. I mean, you could write a letter to a group of people or an individual, and they read it and they have to call you because we're not clear. It's all documented, right? But there's some communication um uh slip here, maybe. So now that's written in black and white, and you could read it, you can ponder it, you can go over it, you can analyze it. But when you have someone that's sitting as we are, maybe with an owner, and they are uh describing, some are more um um akin to describing their aesthetic uh outcome or desires. And for the majority of people, that's incredibly difficult. So as the designer, you need to be intuitive. Um it's not really what's coming out of their mouth so much, it's what's in their eyes, how are they holding their head, what's their body position when they say this, that, or the other. Even though they may say they like this, their body says they don't love it. So now, even though they state that, we know that that's not going to go in the high priority, that's gonna go in the medium priority, and the client didn't tell us that. And we confirm it when we make our presentations, and whatever it is that they had said with their their facial expression, the words that they use, that would have been convincing to someone who's not into that intuitive engagement, uh, would not pick up on it, and we would put that at this level, and they would acknowledge, yes, it's it's right where it needs to be. They it's not elevated where it's it should not have been elevated, but yet the way that they said it would have been interpreted. So the the production of what we use the technology for really isn't for speed, it's for that clarity of communication. Because what and and to make a point of what you had said that um that that when they have this perception that they can do it very quickly, they could revise it very quickly, that may be. But we are very um aware and we make it well known that this is the forefront, this is the tip on the uh on the arrow. The arrow's 10 feet long, right? So this tip is only this big. We can manipulate that very quickly, but what's behind it is what is going to take at that time, and we cannot um reduce that timeline, even though on the tip of the spear we have this sort of mobility and this flexibility.

Clarity Over Speed With Tech

SPEAKER_00 14:40

So uh yes, we try to uh introduce a technology, but we try to put limits and a reality on how that technology fits into the overall scheme of things.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

And I grin because um when we have to put limits on uh yacht owners, it's uh it it can be a challenge. But but that's the part that we always embrace, and I'm gonna segue it into something. You know, many people think of of yacht owners that, you know, oh well maybe they just want so many things or their their needs are unlimited, and I'm so happy they are because they bought this yacht to be able to go wherever they want. Let them have the experience they want, and that's our job. Um and I say our job because my my next question will be and this is obviously coming from a very egocentric uh perspective, electric. How do you design for the unseen, for example? And that's something that um you know I I will tell you that I can see the the variations, but electric is something that's assumed. Um and and we also take the position, you're right, it just needs to be there, it needs to be solid, it needs to be stable. Our number one is not customer um satisfaction, it's safety. And if it's safe, you'll make them satisfy and um and we will make it work. But but how do you design around the unseen?

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Yes, you know that's very important. I mean, let's face it, light and electricity is the life of design, right? Without it, uh you really have you have nothing. Um and that's how critical uh electricity is, lighting is to design. They're all you can't separate one without the other, right? Not at all. So um for in that in that uh instance, um we there there are things that that's intuitive, right? That goes back long ago.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Um for instance when uh design in uh a space and you enter a space, most people are right-handed, right? So we know where the lights are. It could be pitched black, you're doing this, right? You you know where it should be, and then when it isn't,

Designing Power You Never See

SPEAKER_00 16:40

now it becomes a hunt, right? So designing intuitively is very, very important. And having people that you work with, um, like with your electrical traits, uh sometimes you do things that's not intuitive, right? At least initially. I give you an example. Um I always find it amusing when I check into a hotel. Literally, I mean I'm checking in at the desk and I'm thinking, how are they going to support my technology that I need to plug in for my phone, my watch, this, that, and the other. And it's it's really, like I said, quite amusing to see sometimes the hoopla that you need to go through to receive that service, right? To get that support. So now we've become used to if it's not um behind the nightstand, then you know to look on the side of the nightstand, or maybe there's a compartment in the nightstand. So there are certain things that's evolved into an intuitive capacity, and much more so in a marine, in a marine project or in an aircraft project. Those are the necessities that's needed, uh, but those are the things that you want to be concealed for the most part. So um having the um design be intuitive, but having the um actual point of contact be in as concealed or masked as as possible. And I remember once uh we were designing a project, it actually was a residential project, and uh we were able to uh place the outlets uh in the baseboards. So when we were designing that, we had a most horrific time, uh, and it was in another state with the electrical boxes being placed exactly where they need to be placed because we had a dado and a skirt that was very specific and we needed to align in a vertical sense all of these elements. And so to answer that question, how do you work? Having that team that has the vision and that has the patience or that has the engagement is very, very critical. And I know with wards that you have all of those attributes because if you didn't, uh I don't think that you would have been celebrating your 70th, 70th, 5th. So you know that that speaks to what what you're doing and you're doing it right. Because from a design standpoint, is our number one is to satisfy the client. From the client standpoint is I don't care, this is how I want it. Not that that's how clients are. Um I've been very fortunate that I've had a wonderful in my career stable of clients, um, very wonderful to work with, uh, congenial, uh considerate, all of these different things, reasonable, that sort of thing. And um, but they're looking to us as, well, you know, it's not really my problem. So we need to please them and get it right.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

And then we now look at the person or the entity that's going to make that happen, and now that's your problem, uh, sort of thing. And when you have the team behind it, uh, that really makes a huge difference. And and personality, we all know that personality, I mean human resources is you know the biggest component in any organization, and you take that as a mini um uh HR, uh and you put it on the yacht and you have all of these personalities having to work together. But yeah, having trades that you can work with that you have this symbiotic understanding is key.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

I know for us over the years, um, you know, and in yachting there and it it's not related to the TV show, but there's always been a sort of sort of this line of demarcation, the the above deck would be you, and

Load Planning Around Owner Lifestyle

SPEAKER_02 20:30

I would be the below deck.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 20:32

And um, but what's interesting is that the above deck doesn't work very well with the below deck if they're not in sync. And so um for electricians, so we do something, you know, a load analysis, which is all the power's on, how do you manage the loads? You know, you have these two generators, four generators, nine generators, however many generators you have, we have to manage the power. And you go through a load analysis, and I've been encouraging our engineering team that we really do need to work with who's gonna review that. So, how often are, you know, we're looking at let's say, how often are the washer and dryers on, they ate the chillers, you're you're big consumables. But what I find from the human side, and and you'll probably be able to comment on this, is that I want to know how they're gonna use the boat. This new owner just bought the boat, they're gonna go through a whole refit of the interior, they're gonna change out all the soft goods, but maybe before the previous owner was um older, brought on a lot of kids, it was mainly family, they spent a lot of time um in the salon or or or doing things out on um the in the on deck. But the next owner maybe is going to do spend a lot more time in the galley, and they're gonna want a a very different type. You you can see this, I'm sure. And so their usage of the boat is different, and therefore their power is different. And I've always believed it, and I'm certainly not lambishing you with this here, but our best load analysis would be if it could be reviewed by interior design. How are they really gonna be using this boat? Because they've explained all of it. That to you. They've told you where they're going to travel. They've expressed their vision of how they see themselves with this boat and how their family or their children or it's going to be a charter, how they're going to enjoy this vessel. We don't get that. We get that that on and and I do think that the electrical plant on the boat would be better the more we know how the boat's going to be used, because we will make, we can make those scenarios and those those seamless transfers, no pun intended, total pun intended, happen. For example, I give you an example. So you're at the dock, you're you're sleeping, you're under charter, or its owner's on board, and there's a loss of power, some boats, when it transfers over to generator, all the lights are gonna come on, everything's gonna go back to normal, and then you know, then it's gonna go back to normal. Everything's gonna come up and everything's gonna go down. So now you've lost power at two in the morning, the whole boat full of lights, full of all that. I can imagine that they don't care how beautiful it was, they don't want to see it at two in the morning. So um they would probably say that's a light problem. Why are these lights coming on in the middle of the but it's actually an electrical problem? It's not the lights that you designed. And so we're finding that it's more and more important to really understand the way people want to use it, especially now with hybrid boats. I was gonna get into that with you. How has that been for you challenging on boats with hybrid power capabilities? I don't know, does that affect your designs?

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Well, we actually haven't worked on a hybrid boat yet.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Um but um after um reading about it and seeing podcasts and seminars that it will have uh an impact and and it is. It's the the next wave of technology that uh we will have to embrace. Everyone will have to embrace it. And I, you know, as a designer, that's we would have to br embrace it in one capacity, but as an electrical company, um a contractor, uh that will probably have quite a um big impact on on your your processes, your procedures, everything, your everything. Everything. It's it's a complete makeover of how you would be doing or your company would be doing business.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

So for us, we haven't had much uh experience with we haven't had a ton of it either, but we're starting to work with you know builders and and they're looking at how they can distribute power, or you know, some of these boats are heavily DC over AC, and I was just curious if that affects the type of equipment, the type of sconces, the type of elements that you that you need to put on the boat.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

It it probably would, any sort of change you have in the core power, whether that's fuel or electricity, is going to have an and an impact on the end product and the end result. You know, it's gonna perform differently, um, and you know, we will interact with it maybe a little bit differently. Um but uh interestingly enough, um what you were saying earlier as far as um developing a um load diagram and uh doing that basically uh in the dark, right? Um it had knowing the intended use of anything for manufacturer, at that point you can say that you're the manufacturer. You're manufacturing the electrical systems of this vessel, so by extension you're part of the manufacturer. So if we do not fully understand how something is going to be used, um we're not that we will fail, but there are that now introduces many points of potential failure. So for you, as you were saying, that power is lost in the middle of the night, 2 a.m., yes, beautiful interior, we love it, we don't want to see it at 2 a.m. in the morning. Um, you know, that becomes something that could, by extension, create um uh other issues with the owner as far as I'm not liking how I am sinking and how I'm fitting into this um into this environment.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Experience.

SPEAKER_00 26:04

This experience. You know, I have to just say it just came to mind. I used to love for jaguar and I love jaguar. Jaguar, especially what jaguar was. And they had for the longest time their um slogan, and their slogan was a blending of art and machinery.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

So, yeah, that is nice. That's perfect. And I think I remember that as a kid. And it always stuck with me because in the industry that I'm in in aviation and in marine, the blending of art and machinery is so important. And again, it's kind of like a conductor. You may have the entire orchestra there, but if the one on the trom trombone is not going to follow the cue, is not gonna hit that note or whichever instrument it is, it's going to spoil the experience. So when you're blending art and machinery, let's consider us to be the art, and you're the machinery, is you you need that symbiotic approach to where not is everybody on the same page, but everybody is melding into the same objective. And that's when you begin to see spectacular things. Uh things that are not necessarily um obvious, things that you experience, they're discoveries. I love discoveries in design. And for instance, with electrical, is um there are some times where you put charge in ports or outlets or switches or that sort of thing, that um you discover it. But you discover it in an intuitive capacity. That's the difference. It's not like, oh, finally, this is where it is. No, it's not that. It's designing and planning that when the need is there, that you project and you calculate what are going to be the steps, sometimes literal, to get you to that point to satisfy what that electrical need is. And that's good design. That's the blending of art and machinery.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

Wow, you captured that very well. So I I I do, and I and I and I like that perspective because we find, um, like I said, not to repeat the same point, that that there are voids, and we can make sure there's plenty of power there, but maybe you could have used power someplace else, or or maybe it's it's overkill and not necessary, and it just isn't creating the experience where there was such a potential that we could have created something that would have really wowed them with that design or or taken that to the next level. And and I think there's many opportunities there to do that, and and talking about future refits, I think that that's something that we can we can also you know really really work to expand upon.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

No, I think that's um most certainly um very insightful and important. And uh as we were speaking earlier in another podcast, uh we were speaking about um the industry and how we come together, right? And on the micro level, or on the macro level, um you know, having entities that are involved so intricately in one objective to where my success depends on you, your success depends on me, and then there's someone after me and someone after. So, you know, we're we're this ecosystem. Yes, and that ecosystem needs to be symbiotic. Yes. And the overall effect, of course, at the end is to please the owner. But the reason why I bring that up is that we were speaking more holistically in that other podcast about the industry as a whole. But when you think about what it takes, the wheels that it takes to make the industry turn, we have thousands and thousands of them, just like any other industry. However, in the marine industry, we have an inordinate amount of spinning wheels. We're a highly uh detailed and complex industry, such as like automotive or aviation. And to be able to fine-tune that and to be able to grease those wheels if you would, with conveniences and with efficiencies, um, just the sheer fact that you had mentioned earlier that maybe the designer should look at a load plan, uh, but wheels turning in the head, uh, that yes, I agree. And I think that the next collaboration that we have, um, it's never been asked for the most part. I shouldn't say never, but I don't recall it being asked. But I think it would be great to explore, even if it's just to determine if does it really help? And I think you and I are going to be quite surprised because having that involvement at that level could change the trajectory of what the end uh experience is.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Complete. Um for example, we put in formulas, and not to go, you know, stay on that, I do want to segue, but you know, we put in formulas for how long we think the galley's gonna be used, or the espresso machine, or the washer and dryers, and and you may say, Oh, no, this gentleman is um, you know, a coffee connoisseur. They drink coffee all day long. That galley was gonna be all day. I have no idea. So I don't, I'm thinking, well, it's peak hours, it's between this and this, it's breakfast, it's lunch, it's dinner, and you're like, oh no, this is gonna be a galley because and then I could probably see the design that you've done. I intuitively know a fair amount of your designs that I can, if he's put that in there, this means this. If he's put that in there, this means that. But that's just because I've I've known you and I know that you're doing the design, and I can think of an interesting sport fish that we did um recently, which those generators are just like just pushed to the very end. I think they're you know they're operating and you know, they're getting because they they put so much, and I as soon as I saw you on the boat, I'm like, mm-hmm. We need to be very, very precise on our power management. Not that we wouldn't, but I knew that what you would be putting in, and just but yet I think it would be a great, even if we just did it as um almost experimental to say these are the factors that we thought. Now you review and just see how close we are. Maybe we need to calibrate it, maybe we need just just having that information. It would be just so interesting empirically to see how close we really are on our we know it from a power consumption medical.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

We need to put it to the test.

SPEAKER_02 32:33

We must, and then we'll do a follow-up to see how we did it.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Yeah, because you know what, it's gonna be an improvement for both of us. And it's gonna give us insight that um we didn't have before. So let's do it.

SPEAKER_02 32:44

It's part of this refit renaissance that's gonna be happening in the in the US that's already happening and we're seeing that buzzword. I know. Yeah, it's a phrase I should say. It is, it is. Now let's

Pandemic Pivot To Yachtlife Brands

SPEAKER_02 32:55

talk about a different renaissance. Talk about how you've moved, not moved, you've expanded um your design into a lifestyle brand as the quintessential Yattsman. Yes. That is so and wonderful. And it just just the I've had the opportunity to work with you with some of your um consumables. Yeah. And so please talk to me about that.

SPEAKER_00 33:19

Yes, okay, excellent. Yes. Um I when when I describe it, I call it a pivot.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

So, it it's uh coming from the the person that did the pivot. Yeah, so we pivoted and um it was serend if you want to call it serendipitous, but um when the pandemic struck, and um I would go to my office sometimes when there's nobody on the road in the middle of the day, I get really at a time when your thoughts could not calibrate and reason with where is this going? What are we gonna come out with on the other side as a business entity? And when that went into days and weeks, um as a business owner, a small business owner, I would go to my office, and nobody in the building, and I'm there, and I would sit there and I would do what I typically don't do in my office. My office isn't huge, but it's a it's a decent size. All of my walls are um covered in my portfolio, image to image, floor to ceiling. It's got on gator boards, it looks really dramatic. And I would go there and I would walk through the halls and I would walk everywhere into my staff's offices, their cubicles because it's everywhere. And I looked and I looked and I reminisced of all the projects that I've done, not all of them, but a lot of them. And I started to think, where am I going to be? Where are we going to be as an industry or as a society when we come out of this? Well, don't know as a society, but as an industry, um I need to prepare. So that is when I started thinking about capitalizing. Capitalizing on the equity I have. At that point, it was like um 30, 30 years in the industry, and in my own company. And uh so I started thinking, well, what am I going to do to preserve my staff, my business, that sort of thing. And that's where the quintessential Yachtsman came from. And Emily, as you know, Taffel of Muggsy PR, we're communicating, and she's been my PR group for over over 20 years, so we have a lot of history. And uh we started talking about it, and she had mentioned that there was a small craft distiller in Fort Lauderdale that was looking to collaborate, maybe with someone in the yachting industry. And we brainstormed and we came up with Yachtlife vodka. And um, as that began to develop, I began to see other opportunities that could be a natural progression uh in this consumable um capacity.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

Love that.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Yes, and so the quintessential yachtsman was born as the entity that owns the company Yachtlife Brands, and Yacht Life Brands is the owner of the products. We have Yachtlife Vodka, Yacht Live Caviar, and right now we are developing Yachtlife uh water, so that would be the trifactor. You know, you have caviar with the vodka, and now you're running for the water, right? So it's a trifector. And uh so that's how that came about. It came about uh out of uncertainty, and uh it's definitely a pandemic company, and um so ever since then it's been growing and we're doing many different things with it, and and and now I have different roles within my companies that I just felt.

SPEAKER_02 37:00

That's great. And it shows your your your your number one, your dedication to the industry, but also your willingness to evolve. And you didn't sit back and say, Wow, this is a scary time, not sure what's gonna happen. You know, what do I do? You said I'm gonna I'm gonna do something myself and I'm gonna I'm gonna take that. And I will tell you that when I first heard about it, um I hadn't met Emily. I'm gonna say, I forget where I saw it, and somebody said, That's Patrick Knowles, vodka. And I was like, really? Well, we need to have that. We need to be a part of that. And um, you know, I connected with Emily and I was like, I absolutely want to support it. Thanks for that support. No, no, no, but it was that's what we do in the industry. I was like, you know, I mean, if he can the the beautiful designs that you've done because I know you and because of that capital that you have built over the years, and I know the just the depth and beauty of the designs, you need to go to his website and and we'll get into that and look at some of them for those of you who don't believe me. Um and so I knew the vodka had to be the same, and I and I had the opportunity. Thank you for sharing that with us in our 75th. And yes, but people need to know that's that's how that's how our industry works. You know, if we come up with something, we support each other, we we try it with each other.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

We're an ecosystem.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

We are you keep saying that you're right. I need to I need to I like that. No, but I but you but you're right, it's the perfect word to capture it.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

I don't usually use that word.

SPEAKER_02 38:22

I was gonna say that's not really on like any of your uh in your vernacular, I would say, but I but I do think as the quintessential Yattsman, you are you are um connecting the ecosystems both within your company but also now throughout the industry. And so I I think that that's wonderful, and I and I've seen it all around, and and again, you're bringing that quality capital to wherever these consumerables are. And um we are purposely saying that word. So Google it, look it up. We're inventing a new.

SPEAKER_00 38:51

And let's see if they could pick up on it.

SPEAKER_02 38:53

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:54

Well now we told, but that's right. Um so I so I think that's wonderful. So do you have any and then you've also developed some bespoke items?

SPEAKER_00 39:03

Yes, uh specifically with the caviar at the moment, and I have um several uh projects that I've worked with that uh we're beginning to to maybe collaborate on these uh bespoke elements in the caviar um sector of the business. And you know, our slogan for the company is a taste of the good life. Yeah. And you know, we debated what

A Living Brand And Good Life

SPEAKER_00 39:30

should it be, what should it be. And you know, I just want to tell you something, if I may, sure. About brand, brand in and brands, is that you have fictitious brands and you have the real McCoy, right? So let's let's explore the two.

SPEAKER_02 39:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

When you think of Tommy Bahama, right? There's no Tommy, there's no Bahama, there's really no beach house that belongs to Tommy. You know, it's a character. And through that character, which is a brilliant brand, because when you look at that brand and how these individuals came together and they created a personality, they created a lifestyle that was so compelling that people want to be a part of it. You cannot go and shake the hand of Tommy, Mr. Bahama. You cannot sit in his beach house, but you want everything that he stands for, right? So that was the whole purpose of that and the point of that brand. Now, when you think about um a living brand, you know, Ralph Loren, you know, he's a living brand. The man that does all of it is alive. Um so for us, when we and and there are other brands like Tommy Bahama or other brands that project a lifestyle that either is based upon a fictitious character or a lifestyle that the creator does not engage in, whether that's golfing or polo or whatever it may be, Bowdoin. Um, so there's a fantasy, right? So when we decided on our tagline, we decided a taste of the good life. And the reason why I settled on that is that we are creating the good life, and we are offering with the owner from all of these designs a taste of what it is to live that good life. And so when I think about we're feeding the eyes, remember, I think in a previous uh that I say that you know we're visual beings, and um, so we feed the eyes with our designs, and now let's speak to the palate. Let's feed the palate. So when you think about those two elements and the fact that for the owner of the company is that I'm alive, it's it's a living brand, and um it's genuine because even to this day on my drawing board, we are at the moment creating which would be delivered as a taste of the good life to yacht owners. And in the uh advent of technology, remember uh Christina back in the day when you would um do projects that you couldn't mention the name, uh, you couldn't mention the name of the boat, most certainly the owner, couldn't take pictures, nothing, right? So with technology, now the world has uh a portal of view into the art and industry, and that's changed a lot. So our brand is also highly inspirational or excuse me, aspirational to where we are projecting what the real and the genuine uh attitude and reality of what that good life is. So all of that is encapsulated in the brand and how I came up with the different uh segments of the brand. But the quintessential yachtsman uh was very important as the parent company, and I'm not the quintessential Yachtsman. I never will be the quintessential Yachtsman. The quintessential Yachtsman is a state of mind. It's a state of living and it's a state of existence, it's a state of how you interface with others, how you live your life, how you spend your time, the pace that you go. All of that is what's encapsulated in the quintessential Yachtsman. So a taste of the good life through the eyes of the quintessential yachtsmen is really an effort to convey a very fine experience and a very thoughtful experience as seen from the perspective of the Yachtin community, the Yachtin industry.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

That's a tremendous explanation. I fully understand it now, and you've you've been able to explain that so well. And I thank you. I can't believe that I say this, um, that all the years we've all been that it that it hasn't been thought of because it makes so much sense. It really is. I when you say things like feeding through the eyes, um And now let's, you know, let's let's taste their palate. It it's true, test the palate. I it's true. I think that, and that also is a way of bringing people into the industry. I think that sometimes the industry, you know, maybe I think there are a million reasons why people shouldn't buy yachts. Yes. But I could give you two million reasons why they should. And and we learned that during COVID. And we learned that families wanted to be together, that families wanted to spend time together, people just wanted to be on the water, people wanted to not feel trapped, and they they spent the time, they used their boats, and more and more people, charters are up, boat building went up, people wanted to be outside and and have that freedom, and I think that's something that you're capturing that that passion that they have, and you've just defined it into a character. And that's that's wonderful for the whole industry. It's not just for interior designs. We need people to to bring people into the yachting industry.

SPEAKER_00 44:52

We we do, we do, and there there is so much potential for that, particularly in the US, and also when you consider the fact that for from a territorial standpoint, um most yacht owners who commission yachts and buy yachts are American. And you know, we're in beautiful Palm Beach. We know what's right across this waterway, right? So there's tremendous potential for us as as colleagues in this industry to take it to a level and to a place where it can be very beneficial from the owner all the way down to the craftsman because we're we're we're so this area is so conducive to producing what it is that we produce. And I I love the idea, as we had spoken earlier in another podcast, of exploring how we could do is exactly as you say, how can we encourage and invite people to come into the industry, not only as buyers, but also as manufacturers, craftsmen, because a yacht is a very important statement. Interestingly enough, there was a time when someone, let's speak about symbols for a moment, if I may. Sure. Is that, you know, when you get to the point of amassing the level of success and wealth that some of these people do, when they look out with all this wealth, they look out as to what they can do. They they're very limited in being able to express and articulate what they have achieved in life. We're not talking about vanity. We're not talking about being um a bragging and boasting. It's not that. It's I've I've worked for X amount of years, I've built this from this level, or I've I've I've have um um augmented and prolonged a family uh lineage business, wherever that wealth may have come from, is that back in the day the pinnacle of really showing that wealth was an aircraft. Right? Now, interestingly enough, because I come from the aircraft sector, is that an aircraft is a vehicle. An aircraft is not lifestyle, even though it can be perceived as it's not lifestyle. You're not going to go on a Sunday afternoon and hang out on the airplane.

SPEAKER_02 47:23

Just have a nice flight.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

Yeah, or even a flight. Or just not even on a flight, just hang out on the tarmac. Just hang out on the airplane, sit on the tarmac. It doesn't support lifestyle in that capacity, right?

SPEAKER_02 47:33

You're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Now, you have yachts and you always have had yachts, but yachts, as you know, when I came into the industry, owning a 110-foot yacht was 115, 120, you're big business. Um when you looked at the value of a yacht back then versus an aircraft, so you could see where the pinnacle of somebody's expression of wealth, where where that was. Uh now it's uh when you look at what's being produced on the water and you look at the value and the investment crowding a billion dollars, um, there aren't very many homes that crowd a billion dollars. So, really, we've entered an age where the expression of somebody's not necessarily wealth, I don't want to confuse it with a statement of wealth, it's the reflection and representation of accomplishment. And if you're so inclined to treat yourself, we all treat ourselves when we reach a milestone, right? When you have that sort of wealth, how do you treat yourself to where you feel that what you've invested in is a true reflection and worthy of stating that accomplishment? So that's where brands come in very, very strong and um has a an impact on how people express that. But uh one of the things that's pretty important is that for someone that is expressing that um success is that they in most cases want it to be shared, right? And so today, whereas before it wasn't, um whereas now you see the most magnificent yachts that's afloat, and by means of social media platforms, you have pictures of them on the outside, on the inside, and that sort of thing. Back in the day that wasn't the case. We wouldn't even know what the name of it is or even the fact that it exists. So we've now come into this community to where everyone is seeing that taste of a good life. And as technology and as we begin to become closer in our communication and our interaction with each other across societies, um, we begin to identify experiences that we would like to have a taste of that good life. And sometimes that can be maybe uh a point in someone's life that um maybe they're just uh uh day-to-day person and they save up and they want to have that caviar, they want to have that vodka, and that's a mini um experience and a mini indulgence and a mini taste of the good life. So it's open to everyone.

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Well, on that I was gonna say is similar to the previous conversation we were having, is there any thought of trying to attract the next generation? Can can young kids have a taste of the good life to start thinking about how do they I I understand it's supposed to be a reward for success and accomplishment, so to speak, but I think if you, you know, there's also a sense of if you grow up knowing that that's something that you want and and that can be your aspiration, is there is there thought to that? It's making something generational.

SPEAKER_00 50:57

Um that I don't have much of an answer for.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

I would say Well I just caught you flat-footed and it was interesting what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 51:05

But because I don't have an answer doesn't mean that it fell on deaf ears, because that um is quite provocative in the sense that you know when you think about when a brand is is is birthed, and typically if it's a serious brand, they know who their customer is, they know that the message that they're going to send, that sort of thing. And um, you know, we've had a demographic in the sense of, you know, adults, I mean it is a liquor part of it, um, and caviar and that sort of thing. But I have to tell you, we do um quite a bit of activations. And I am, and even in my own friend circle, um, it's amazing how many kids, young kids, love caviar. I remember I had a really good friend come over with his daughter and never had caviar, really didn't know much about caviar, and kind of had, you know, a 10-year-old's look when like we're gonna have caviar. Yeah, right. Um, and uh I think that she she kept right up with us. She had consumed as much as we did, not that it was a gross amount, but the point is, is that it wasn't in her vernacular, it wasn't on her radar, but now she has become so interested in it that now she's beginning to understand what caviar is, where it comes from, the different kinds of caviar that it is. And that's when you introduce something in somebody's life to where you've actually made a bit of a change. You didn't change dramatically, but you introduced some something to someone. And actually the other colleague that we were speaking with was speaking about that and and introducing our industry to a new generation that of course they if they live in a coastal community, they see boats on the water. Um seeing a boat on the water and making a connection that I could be a part of it, not necessarily on the boat, but for someone who's really good with the hands with carving, that I could do mill work or very mechanical, I can work in systems or electric or electrical work. Yeah, so what what she was saying, just like with that 10-year-old being introduced to caviar, that I think is now going to stick with her for a while, if not for the rest of her life. Um, same thing with our industry is that there are so many things that are appealing in the industry that we can take forward, bring forward to the new generation, and um really

Growing Talent Through Training Academies

SPEAKER_00 53:31

figure out ways. I think for you, like as a business owner, for me as a business owner, I think for the contribution to our industry that goes beyond us is not maybe not the legacy that you leave behind, but maybe the impact is how much do we contribute individually to not only perpetuating our industry, but contributing to the growth and to the the the strength of our uh community through apprenticeship programs and through internship and that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 54:04

So our COVID project was to build an academy and we've started it. Um the bad news is it's not done. The good news is it's because we've all been so busy even through COVID, um, which again we're very grateful for and blessed. Um but uh you know, do building an academy, and and I would even love to incorporate um perhaps some interior designs to that because we can it's one thing to show um how the switchboard works and moves to distribution and we have frequency converters and we can manage the power and go into that, but it would be nice to show how it affects. And so there's ways that in and ultimately that academy for now we're looking at it to train our own um our own um staff and make sure that our staff is always keeping up and we just want to do it internally. We also use it to train captains and crew on the equipment that we're installing so they can be helpful. Right.

SPEAKER_00 54:58

But we're the curriculum for design.

SPEAKER_02 55:01

But that's what I'm saying. Like it would be wonderful to have something, you know, like that a part of. I mean, clearly it's it's electrical, but but also to be able to understand how it impacts.

SPEAKER_00 55:11

No, I think that that's brilliant. And if if you've not implemented, I would strongly and highly recommend that you um that you implement it. Because the more that we are aware of systems and how systems not only operate, but how systems are installed and um how they come about, how they support, um, is is critical for a designer. Uh HVAC is another uh critical thing because you're dealing with you're you're dealing with real estate that needs to be consumed by uh these sorts of things. And um I would I would love it. And you know, I have to say um that I've heard of the academy, but I didn't know anything other than it was an academy by wards. I'm glad you told me about it. Maybe after we got through the chaos of the show. Let's communicate because I'd love to see how we could we could benefit, we could support, we can integrate, that sort of thing. I would love it.

SPEAKER_02 56:13

And where I see it going is in the future, right now it's gonna be for people in the field, eventually it's people learning to be in the field, eventually it's kids. And and we start running them through a program of this this is all of the elements, for example, of a yacht from our perspective, which part do you want to be involved in?

SPEAKER_00 56:31

Well, no, I think that's pretty significant.

SPEAKER_02 56:34

Well, thank you

Final Thanks And Subscribe

SPEAKER_02 56:35

so much for your time today, Patrick. It has been so wonderful. I feel like we have so much positivity but interesting perspectives on the future and we're yachting and the um I I think there's so far to go. Yes. And uh I I look forward to seeing more about the quintessential yachtsmen and all the designs that you have, and we'll make sure that we uh please go to Patrick Knowles Designs.

SPEAKER_00 56:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 56:55

And um thank you for being a part of this, and I hope you have a tremendous successful show.

SPEAKER_00 56:59

Absolutely, and you too, Christina. Thank you for having me. Thank you. It's been a joy, it's been excellent weather.

SPEAKER_02 57:04

And we've had wonderful weather, yes, I know. Neither one of us controlled that, but it's good that we had it.

SPEAKER_00 57:08

Yes, and may you have an excellent show.

SPEAKER_02 57:10

Thank you so much. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 57:13

Thanks for joining us. Make sure you subscribe to the Wards Wave podcast. We're just getting started.