X Shore Boats

X Shore builds fully electric boats. My scope was everything on deck — the seating, the layout, and the modular system that allowed the Eelex 8000 to transform from a functional work boat to a sunbedded day cruiser. That modularity was the core design contribution, and the primary reason the boat received the German Design Award 2020 and the iF Design Award 2020.

Seating as Engineering

Designing seating for a boat is a different problem than designing furniture. The constraints are harder: weight matters, weather resistance is non-negotiable, and every piece has to function as part of a larger modular system rather than standing on its own.

The seat has to perform in salt water and direct sun, lock into multiple configurations, and still feel considered enough that it doesn't undermine the quality of the boat around it.

The construction reflects that — layered plywood, cast metal brackets, marine-grade materials. Every joint and surface was designed for both durability and the specific visual language of the Eelex.

Eelex 8000 stern detail

3D render close-up of two boat seat backs, showing layered plywood shell edges and black cast metal bracket connecting seat to frame — Material and upholstery detail

CAD render of two boat seats, showing red leather upholstery over layered plywood seat pan and back, mounted on black cast metal frame with visible stitch lines — Seat construction — layered plywood with cast metal brackets

3D render of a single Eelex seat from the side, showing layered plywood backrest and seat pan on a black metal base frame against a dark background — Side profile

Modularity

The real design problem wasn't any single piece. It was the system. The deck had to reconfigure — seating arrangements, sunbed layout, functional tool setup — without compromises at any stage. Each configuration had to feel intentional, not like a compromise of the others.

That's what made it work as a product, not just as a boat. The flexibility was built into the design, not bolted on after.

Eelex 8000 underway on open water seen from port quarter, iF Design Award 2020 badge overlaid in the upper-left corner