The document is a design brief for a cruise seat in the shape of a boat for children. Some key points: - The boat seat will be large enough to fit 4 children and be decorated with a pirate theme. - Materials will include MDF wood for the base and frame, pine wood for additional structure, and plywood planks for the body. - The boat will have cushioned seats and a dark brown paint job to look realistic. - Research on similar products found boat-shaped beds were a popular style for boys aged 4-8.

1. Cruise Seat
Dubai British School
Nia Walker, 11 s
1104

3. Design BriefI am going to design a play seat for children in the shape of a boat,
which is why I call it the ‘Cruise Seat’. This is because we are
following the Pirates theme. It would be a fun way for them to let
their imagination run wild and escape the ordinary, by playing
pretend.
The boat will hopefully fit 4 children, so it should be quite a large
size; I had to measure children from the fitted age group to come up
with the actual size of the boat. Since our target market involve
children, I will also have to make sure that it is safe and comfortable
enough for them to use as a play area and of course make it look as
attractive as possible.
The main material to the making of the boat would be the
types of wood: I chose to use 9 mm MDF wood because
it is the easiest type of wood to work with, I will also use
pine wood to create a frame of the boat and thin planks of
plywood for the body of the boat, and also to create a
nice boat effect. The boat will also have a flat base and
cushioned seats for comfort.
The boat will obviously be a classic dark brown woody
colour, make it look as realistic as possible to get in the
zone of sailing in the oceans. It will also be decorated

4. MarketResearch – Cilek furniture store for children
I’ve been looking at kids’ furniture, such as beds and chairs in the shape of
interesting sources of transport, which is of course to keep the children entertained.
I couldn’t find the exact same product as the one I’m hoping to design, although I’ve
found a few similar products. For example: The car shaped beds, they would come
in bright colours considering they are targeted for children and these car shaped
beds are mostly popular for young boys in the age between 4-8 years.
Materials: The main material
needed would be wood (MDF),
wax, paint and other types of
materials to cover up the wood
making it smooth and pretty
looking. Some parts are made
of plastic, e.g. car window –
glass free furniture, save for
children
ManufacturingProduct
The function of the product is to be a
comfort area for children, where they can
just relax and play at the same time. The
product had been designed in a creative way
to encourage children to let their imagination
free by having a normal solid furniture in the
shape of a transporting source. It’s
something that children as well as parents
Function and Cost
Product Analysis

5. These are boat shaped
beds for children, mostly
targeted at young boys
between 4-8 years old.
Secondary Research
Boat shaped
furniture – similar
existing products
From my secondary research, I have
gathered pictures of boat shaped beds
that helped me develop and come up with
new ideas for my design. Beds are meant
to have a flat base, which suggest that it
will need to be presented in a different
way, apart from its shape, to make it look
like a boat.
1) This bed has a simple design, and
shape, but we can still tell that it is in
a boat form. It follows the same
typical shape of a boat structure, with
the pointy front and flat back.
2) This is a bigger bed, with more
compartments and detail, and the
design is more complex. It looks more
like a pirate boat than picture 1. It has
got a book shelf, a sail, and a helm
for decoration. The bed is also
perfected with beautifully designed
4) The last bed is also very complex,
almost like a combination of
picture 1 and 2. It includes a lot of
features of a pirate ship, such as
anchors at the front of the bed, helm
and a mast with a sail.
All four beds seem to share similar
features, such as a flat base, flat
backboards that act like the back of
1)
2)
3)
4)

6. SpecificationSize
Base made up of three
sections
• Section A (helm/bow): 65 cm
x 50 cm
• Section B (middle): 78 cm x
90 cm
• Section C (back): 80 cm x 80
cm
Height: 63 cm
Health & Safety
The boat should
be safe and
comfortable
enough for the
children to play in.
It will have
smooth edges
and surfaces,
Function
It is a play area to
encourage young
children to explore
their imaginary
worlds.
Materials
•Square poles of
pine wood
(2” x 2”)
• MDF
• Planks of Plywood
(width: 10 cm,
thickness: 9 mm)
• Screws
• Nails
• Sawdust
• Wood glue
• Paints
Aesthetics
The boat will need be eye
catching and full of excitement,
it will be covered with bright
colours that should attract the
children. I will make sure that
the boat refers to both boys
and girls; it will have a
masculine side e.g. shark and
dolphins which are more
feminine. My colour scheme is
also very important, of course I
will go in the direction of cool
colours, such as blue, to
emphasize the atmosphere of
the ocean.
filler
Theme
PIRATE
S!
Target Market
• Children at the age of
3-5 years
• Boys and Girls
Make sure to express
the oceanic
atmosphere – to
encourage their
imagination

7. Initial Idea
This was my first design idea. I was following more of a fairytale
or dream like theme, and a little weak on the Pirates side.
However this design should have a flat base and complemented
with cushions for comfort. As you can see, it is still in the form of
a boat, there are pluses and negatives to this design idea, but
there were more negatives to it. This design is very simple, too
simple; it is in the form of a small wooden rowing boat, with a
wooden pole that stands in the middle that holds curtains in
addition to that act like sails. On the other hand, I didn’t really
like this idea and I did not believe that it would work; I also think
On the other hand, I
have also collected
secondary evidence of
wooden boats and boat
shaped beds, these
helped me to gather my
ideas together. I kept
the idea of having a flat

8. This drawing of the wooden boat really
inspired me, and I tried to balance out the
possibilities of what I can or cannot do. I
took the things that I liked and developed
my ideas. Here I liked the idea of the flat
back, backboards and the seats, and I
think that it is reasonable to have two of
the seats with a back for comfort.
I think that it is important to keep in mind
whether it would be comfortable or not,
because it links to my target market.
As I developed my designs and sketches,
in my progression I found that it would be
better if the seats were opposite to each
other, that way the people sitting on them
could face each other.
Developing Ideas
On the right, I explored different
shapes and colours of waves, as well
as different tones of brown. This helped
me figure out my colour scheme, as In
conclusion to that, I picked the dark
brown tone, with light blue that should
be outlined with white, this should allow
both colours to clash and stand out. I
chose the smoothly rounded waves to
refer to the calm sea, contrasting with

9. Height: 118 cm
Width: 30 cm
(shoulders)
22 cm (waist)
Arm length: 54 cm
Weight: 17.5 kg
Client ProfileOur client would be a foundation teacher, since the
product we are all making are for foundation students in
our school. They would often have events, where they
would dress up like pirates and play pretend, which is why
our products are pirate themed.
This is Evanna, she’s in
foundation 2, and she is 5
years old. She adores the
show Jake and the
Neverland Pirates, which
is a popular Disney junior
programme, and she is
extremely excited about
my boat. When the boat is
made, Evanna and her
friends will be able to play
pirates like Jake and his
friends.
Pupils in the foundation stage are aged
between 3-5 years. They are at they
stage where they are very active, and
they just want to know everything,
explore new things and be imaginative
with minds filled with wonder. They are
still at that stage where all they really
PIRATES DAY!Pirates Day is
when boys and
girls dress up
and parade
around school.
Boys dress up
as pirates and
girls would
This is why I chose the
idea of making a boat,
to make their favourite
event complete. How
can pirates be pirates

10. This means that Evanna is quite tall for
her age. I have based my ergonomics
data on Evanna, because it is better to
have a big boat than a boat that wont fit
the slightly bigger kids.
Ergonomics andAnthropometric data
• The boat should fit four children, having two people sat at each
end of the boat. There will be two seats in the mid section of
the boat (140cm), one against the stern (back of the boat) and
the other one is at the rear of the boat, where a back board will
be built in to support it.
• The rear seat will be 40 cm x 75cm and the seat at the stern
will be 40 cm x 85 cm (the extra 5cm is to allow it to stick out of
the boat as a step), these sizes are different due to the shape
of the boat, the height of the seat will be 30cm which is half the
height of the boat.
Normal height and weight of children
from the age of 3-5 years old:
* Boys: 95cm – 110cm, 15kg -19kg
* Girls: 95cm – 118 cm, 15kg-19kg
Evanna’s shoulders are 34cm wide, therefore there
should be a space between the two people sitting
because being cramped together would not be very
comfortable. The length from the waist to her knees
when she is sitting down is 36cm, therefore the seat
will need to be wider than that for her to fit in
comfortably. When she is sitting down the top half of
her body will be 52cm and the height of the boat
from the seat will be 30cm which means that she

11. Beginning of Designing - Modelling
I started designing by making models to help me with the shape
and structure of my boat.
Model 1) did not
work out because
MDF wood are not
flexible enough to
bend, and it was
difficult to angle the
pieces together. I used foam board for
model 3), so it would be
easier to bend and angle:
this helped my decide
what type of shape I want.I experimented with
shapes in model 2), to
establish the fact that not
all boats are pointy. I was
exploring with different
shapes, and possibilities
of what would work.
For example, this traditional
boat is rounded.
Model 2), however, did not work due to
the structure of the angles and the
complexity, on the other hand I liked the
1) 3)
2)

12. Materials used for
model designPieces of dowel wood and 9 mm of
MDF were used to make models. They
were cut in an angle, but they didn’t
work as well as I expected. The dowel
wood model was the most successful
than the others.The dowel wood gave me the idea of
having different pieces of wood ordered
overlapping each other to create the
body of the boat and the dense feature
of MDF wood will be used as a base of
the boat.I found it difficult to angle the pieces of
wood together, I also had to think about
the structure of the boat – what will hold
the body of the boat. The dowel wood
fortunately helped me figure out how: I
could use “pillars” to structure the boat
and the planks/pieces of dowel could be
stuck onto the pillars of dowel.I found it easier to start modelling and learning
quickly about the shape than doing sketches
on paper; it is also more enjoyable to actually
start making using the explored materials as I

13. MODELS
EXPERIMENTS JOINTS
I experimented with the strips/planks idea
with these models
The inside structure of the ‘U’ shaped
MDF pieces here are used to convey
the “pillars” method, however it will not
work in a scaled model (the real boat),
therefore this model did not work. This
model would not work because it
would take up too much space across
the inside of the boat, also the MDF
pieces would be too thin to hold the
body of the boat. Again it was difficult
to angle the pieces, but this model
illustrates the shape I am looking for,
however I didn’t like the overly sharp
shape.
I experimented with different
joints, to structure the boat. I
needed to join 3 pieces of wood
together, and it had to be strong.

14. CAD drawing
made
By Google
SKETCHES OF
THE BOAT
From different
angles
Different drawings
showing the
positioning of the
seats. I preferred
the idea of the
seats facing each
other than in a
row.

15. Developing Design
Sketch: figuring out the
structure/frame
The sketch above explains the interior
of the boat.
Above is a sketch to show the plain
exterior of the boat. Each section of the
body is made up of planks of plywood

16. Diary of Making Painted, Varnished
and Decorated
Structure of the
boat
Sanded and filed
FRAME
BODY

17. Materials and measurements for the
base of the boat
Length: 65cm x 78cm
x 80cm
Width: 50cm x 90cm x
80cm
(front) (middle)
(back)
Height: 60 cm
seats
Drawn to
scale
2”x2” pine
wood
(structure/fr
ame)
9mm
plywood
(Planks –
body)
2mm MDF
board
(front of
boat – bow)
9mm
MDF
board
(base)
• Plywood is a manufactured wood panel made from thin
sheets of wood veneer. Plywood is used instead of plain
wood because of plywood's resistance to cracking,
shrinkage, splitting, and twisting/warping, and because of
its generally high strength.
• MDF does not contain knots or rings, making it more
uniform than natural woods during cutting and in service.
Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is formed by breaking
down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibres,
often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin
binder, and forming panels by applying high temperature
and pressure. MDF is denser than plywood and it is made
up of separated fibres, but can be used as a building
material similar in application to plywood.
• The most common type of Veneered MDF is by using
Oak. This is a highly complex procedure which involved
taking an extremely thin slice of hardwood (approx 1-2mm

18. Cutting and sanding
the base
I used fillers
(sawdust
and wood
glue) to
make an
extra strong
MAKING:
STRUCTURE
OF BOATShaping joints

19. B
A
A is a connector, the standing
piece that connects bottom frame
with the top frame. I also connects
with B and C pieces.The back/front of the structure.
Another piece of wood stands, to
connect bottom part with the top,
as well as the piece going across
to connect the left side with the
right side of the structure.The joint connects like
a puzzle.
The structure of the boat is made up of strongly jointed
pine wood (2”x2”), cut in an angle to follow the shape of
the boat. It is made up of twelve joints, top to bottom. Each
joint are made up of three individual pine wood stuck
together; two pieces would need to lay flat to support the
one piece standing, which connects with the top part of the
frame. Two pieces of wood needed to support the
connector, both will need to be cut in an angle, this allows
the frame to follow the shape of the boat: so it wouldn’t just
look like a rectangle.
The joints are stuck together with sawdust and wood glue

20. JOIN
TS
The joints
were
screwed
together
so they
were
super
strong.
STRUCTU
RE
Similar to a T-
halving joint,
except there are 3
pieces of wood and
the two on the
ground are in an
angle.
Dovetail
joint to
allow
angling.

21. To create the body of the boat
, I had to drill holes and used
two screws for each surface
being jointed together, this is
to make sure that the bonds
are strong. I also used fillers
to fill in gaps and other errors,
on top of that, nails and of
Almost like
isosceles
triangles
(in an angle)
2 screws
This is the front (bow) of the
boat. Here I am hammering the
structure of the bow to allow
planks to stick on it (inside
structure at an angle) *This was
a difficult part.
Tenon and mortise joint

22. Decoration
I also painted
waves and sea
creatures to
enchant the
tropical and pirate
themed
atmosphere.
ste
p
Seats
being put
in, with
legs for
support.

23. The front
(bow) is
left to be
simple. I
painted
waves all
around
the boat,
with light
blue and
white
outline. It
stands
out on
the dark
brown
tone of
the boat.
On the left side of the boat we have got a
shark, but only its tip and tail are showing,
this should attract the boys. I wanted to
make my product suitable for both girls and
boys, so they can play together.
I painted
dolphins at
the back of
the boat, to
emphasize
the
atmosphere
of being in
the middle
of the
ocean; I
have used
The blue represents a glass floor overlooking the
water under the boat.
Here we have friendly fishes with pretty,
eye catching colours, and a jellyfish.
Barnacl
es

24. INTERIOR EXTERIOR

25. Testing

26. IT’S A SUCCESS!
The children seemed to
really like the boat, which
is a success! It was an
amazing experience
watching them play in the
Cruise Seat, it made me
feel like I have achieved
my goal. As active little
pirates, they sailed the
oceans with attitude.
They took turns to be the
Captain, and even
brought their own
additional props to make
it even more exciting.
Such a long day...
And still not got the
biggest catch of the
day *sigh*
AARRRR
GGHHH!!
!
YO-HO-
LET’SGO!!!
O-oh!Ithinkwe
caughta shark!!!
They
pretended
they were
going out
fishing with
their fishing
nets, and it
seems like
they have
accidently

27. WHAT WORKED WHAT DIDN’T/ How it could be
improved
The structure of the boat worked quite well
and I like how it has a flat base. The flat
base makes the boat safer for the children
to play in: they can walk around the boat
without it rocking or tilting etc.
Boats are curved, and they have a special
shaped base that allows it to float in water,
there features were unnecessary for the
Cruise Seat.
My secondary research supported the fact that having a
flat base is ideal.
The seats opposite each other allow the
passengers of the boat to face each other,
also it would provide more open space
between them, when the seats are far apart.
I didn’t like the seats laid out in a row, it
would be more fun if the children could face
each other. Also it would take too much
space.
The backboards goes well with the seats,
useful for comfort. The seats are also
complimented with cushions made of foam
and sowed fabric, in a pillow case style
covers.
However this could be improved if the
backboards also had foam for extra comfort.
The back seat sticks out a little on the side,
that work as a step which should help the
children to climb into the boat.
This could be a little unsafe because they
could hit themselves or stumble on it, if
they’re not aware. To improve this, I could
make little rope ladders to help them climb
WHAT WENT WELL

28. EVALUATING AGAINST MY SPECIFICATION
SPECIFICATI
ON
X
Health and
Safety
I believe that my boat is comfortable enough for the
children to use as a play area, where I have provided
seats with cushions to fulfil my point. The boat is also
carefully sanded down and varnished to perfection, to
make prevent the children from getting splinters from the
wood, it also makes the boat look more attractive.
However, my boat does not have a rounded
shape that should allow it to have safe
rounded edges. This means that the children
could really injure themselves from e.g.
Falling off and hitting their heads on the
sharp edges.
Function The boat is meant to be a play area for foundation
children, it should work as a seat/bench for them to sit in,
as well as pretend to be pirates in their pirate ship. I
think that I have met this point very well.
I believe that I have achieved the target that
I have set for this point, however I think that
I could improve the function of my design by
adding more fascinating accessories e.g. A
sail and a helm with a steering wheel, etc.
Size The boat is very large, and its around 8 foundation
children at once. I felt that the spacing inside the boat
was ideal, and I’m glad that I chose to place the two
seats opposite each other, which left a useful space in
between for the children to move about in.
The fact that more children fitted in the boat,
meant that my predictions were wrong and I
didn’t do my measurements correctly.
Materials I thought that the materials I had chosen worked very
well, and they were all very easy to work with. The filler
was also very useful during the making of the boat.
The 9mm plywood planks were not bendy
and they were very stiff, which made the
shape of the boat very straight. To improve
this point, I would use 4mm MDF sheets all
around the body of the boat, this should
allow the shape of the boat to look more
flexible and curved.
Aesthetics I think that my boat looks very catchy and during the
testing of my product, I got a lot of positive feedback,
and from the way the quickly approached the boat told
me they were attracted by it. I stuck to my colour
scheme of using bright colours, and I perfected my
design with fascinating creature of the sea, that seem to
I wish that I had also decorated the inside of
the boat to make it look more fun and
enjoyable to the children to look at while
sailing through their lunch breaks, for
example I could have painted a treasure
chest with coins scattered on the floor, etc.

29. EVALUATION
I think that overall it was a successful tryout, I believe that
the children loved the boat; they seemed to really enjoy
themselves playing pretend, exploring their wide worlds of
imagination and most of all just being kids. This was my
goal, to see big smiles on their faces when they play on
the Cruise Seat, because kids like to have fun and let
their imagination run wild, and since they are still at that
stage they should enjoy it the fullest, while they can.
I was really pleased with the feedback I had gotten. The
kids enjoyed themselves and I am happy, everything
worked better than I expected it. As soon as we places
the boat on the foundation playground, the children came
running to it; started from a few, until about ten or more of
them came running over. The boat actually fits more than
I predicted; I predicted the boat would only fit 4 children
but it really fits around 8 children, which I thought was
absolutely brilliant! They didn’t seem to mind being all
cramped together, what mattered more to them was the
amount of fun they are having. The only thing they
suggested that would make the Cruise Seat better was if
it was bigger, and if it had wheels.
If I had more time to improve my design, I would make
more steps to help the children climb onto the boat, on
the other hand they don’t really need it, but it is for health
and safety reasons, so they won’t hurt themselves while
jumping in and out of the boat. I think that in the future I

30. Manufacturing Processes
I think that my product would be suitable for different organizations that involve
children, for example schools, nursery, children play areas, etc. Throughout the
perfecting of the Cruise Seat, I have also found that the age group of the
targeted market is actually wider than I expected; not only foundation kids are
interested in my product but primary kids are too.Party organizers could also use my product, because they often offer different
themes of party venues etc, and my product should be perfect for an outstanding
Buccaneers party. Instead of table and chairs they could use the Cruise Seat
which is more unique; having my product being used by party organizers, should
lead to both the party organizer and the Cruise Seat to gain good image and
increase of sales, because of their uniqueness and the Cruise Seat would get free
advertising.
My product could be a featured limited edition at an online shop, that could be
ordered online and shipped. If there was a lot of it made, I think that the business
would go into bankrupt because not many people would want to buy it; in other
words, it would be rare to have a family of young children owning their personal
Cruise Seat. In one hand, the Cruise Seat would be quite difficult to produce and it
would cost quite a lot to manufacture.My product will need to be batch produced, and it will be set at a high
price because it will be hand made. There will need to be a team with
different sections, and individual teams in charge of different sections
of structure, internal and external which would be the body of the
boat, and the decoration of the boat. To maintain the uniqueness of
the Cruise Seat, I think that there should be different designs for the
decoration of the boat, for example, we could have a girly version
with a mermaid painted on with a girly colour scheme., etc.
Therefore I think that the most suitable way of putting my product in
the market at all is by having it displayed and advertised as a limited
edition product. It could also be ideal of selling it at a high market
children shop: for example where I had done my primary research,