DAME Design Awards 2025 winner brings aviation sector expertise into marine instrumentation
by Sandra Huijbregts 18 Nov 09:39 UTC
18 November 2025
LXNAV's E360 chartplotter wins DAME Design Awards 2025 at METSTRADE © Martijn van Leeuwen
ICOMIA's Technical Director, Patrick Hemp, presented the globally recognised DAME Design Awards 2025 to LXNAV's E360 chartplotter at the Metstrade Official Opening this morning. The Jury also identified eight Category Winners, 18 Special Mentions and named two Environmental Design Award winners from 67 nominated products selected out of 146 entries.
This was a year in which several of the category winners were in close contention to take the top prize. Despite the strong line-up of alternates and a close debate, the Jury kept revisiting LXNAV's E360 chartplotter. The appeal of this entry included its easily integrated compact, cohesive design, matched by an intuitive user interface, broad range of functions and responsive screen.
The E360 is a 4in (102mm) round touchscreen multi-function display that features the ability to display a wide range of NMEA 2000 data. It is supplied with preloaded OpenSeaMap charts, offers Navionics compatibility via SD card and has built-in Fusion music control. The E360 is waterproof to IPX6 and includes built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. It offers high levels of user customisation for displayed data and alert thresholds.
LXNAV is a Slovenian manufacturer that made its name over the past decade creating high-performance instruments for gliders. The Jury was intrigued to see the E360 bringing aviation design expertise to the company's emerging marine products, at a market realistic price. It also praised the E360's optional car-style NMEA 2000 connected jog wheel controller.
The names of all the winners and shortlisted entrants are below. Please visit www.damedesignawards.com to see the full Jury Report with information on the winning entries and insights on why they won.
Acting Chair's remarks
Andre Hoek, Chair of the DAME jury, was sadly unable to be present for the two-day jury meeting due to an unforeseen medical issue from which he has now thankfully fully recovered.
Patrick Hemp, Technical Director for the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), kindly stepped in as Acting Chair and observed: "The Jury had the unprecedented task of assessing 146 products this year. Each judge was acutely aware of the effort and investment that sat behind every product that we considered - whether complex or seemingly simple.
"There is welcome evidence that the industry is not satisfied with status quo. The DAME Design Awards doesn't solely reward altogether new and previously unseen concepts. Encouraging and highlighting iterative design improvement is also at the core of its objectives and many of this year's nominated products are improved designs of what has gone before. In some cases, we could see clear evidence of manufacturers taking higher technology, expensive solutions from sectors such as superyachting and extreme yacht racing and bringing them to a broader user base at appropriately sized and priced packages. That's a very welcome trend.
"Another obvious trend is the ongoing shift towards minimising the consumption of power. With the increasingly heavier reliance on electricity onboard, squeezing the most efficiency from every amp is an imperative now.
"It's also clear that market changing design is being delivered by a broad variety of marine equipment businesses. We expect the industry's long-established names to deliver products that propel the industry forward - and momentum from established companies has certainly picked up again in this year's awards. However new market entrants and startups are also making their mark. Our DAME Design Awards overall winner is a great example, as are the nominations for no less than five Metstrade and Superyacht Startup exhibitors, three of whom claimed well deserved Special Mentions.
"We wish to commend every company that put their products forward in this record-breaking year, congratulate all who attained the very notable achievement of nomination against such a large field and salute those who have claimed the honours highlighted in this report."
€21,900 raised by DAME entrants for ocean conservation cause
The DAME Design Awards is organised, fully funded and hosted by Metstrade. All entry fees each year are donated to a charity selected by the Metstrade Exhibition Committee. A record €21,900 was donated to The Ocean Conservation Trust at the show's Opening Ceremony.
The Ocean Conservation Trust was founded to restore and protect the seas upon which we all enjoy our recreation and rely on our living. Its focus is on pro-ocean behaviour and habitat restoration, centred around people and positive action. It inspires ocean advocacy through connections with nature, combined with its ground-breaking work protecting and restoring vital ocean habitats. Ocean Conservation Trust's team of marine biologists, educators, communicators, researchers, ecologists, oceanographers and divers are ocean optimists. They work tirelessly to connect people to the ocean and influence pro-ocean behaviour.
You can read more about this charity at oceanconservationtrust.org
DAME Design awards 2O25 overall winner
LXNAV E360 Round Chartplotter
Stand 05.280
CATEGORY WINNERS
Personal Equipment
FLIR Ocean Scout Pro
Stand 08.729
Onboard Facilities, Comfort & Entertainment
Dometic CSX Refrigeration System
Stand 01.131
Navigation & Communication
LXNAV E360 Round Chartplotter
Stand 05.280
Electronic & Electrical Systems
Simarine SAC15R - NMEA 2000 Smart AC Distribution Unit
Stand 05.285
Propulsion & Dynamics
Dometic DG3 Gyro
Stand 01.131
Deck Equipment
Softstep by One Palma
Stand 08.166
Safety & Security Aboard
Garmin OnBoard™ System
Stand 01.103
Manufacturing, Support Products & Materials
Supersede Marine Board
Stand 12.704
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AWARD WINNERS
ONE Palma IFS Multi Tradewind Sail
Stand 08.166
Digital Yacht BILGE IQ
Stand 01.535
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Personal Equipment
Henri-Lloyd Ocean Pro
Stand 03.512
Zhik X Range Hiking Boots and Carbon Insole
Stand 12.435
Onboard Facilities, Comfort & Entertainment
Brand ID Smartdeck™ HEAT
Stand 01.761
Dometic Sanitation Wall Holding Tank Series with VacuMAX Technology
Stand 01.131
maglassX PORTOFINO BLACK magnetic lamp
Stand 12.336
Navigation & Communication
Avikus NEUBOAT Dock II
Stand 08.844
SEA.AI WATCHKEEPER
Stand 01.513
Electronic & Electrical Systems
AS Labruna VOLTAB
Stand 01.263
LightGraphix LD1093Z
Stand 08.122
Propulsion & Dynamics
Marlic 3520 Hydraulic Steering Cylinder
Stand 07.300A
ZF POD 4900
Stand 07.300A
Deck Equipment
Seldén Ratchet for CXr Code furler
Stand 01.775
Linnext TENDER-REST Dinghy-Chocks
Stand 07.300E
Safety & Security Aboard
Digital Yacht BILGE IQ
Stand 01.535
Sensar Marine Expansion Hub
Stand 01.814
Manufacturing, Support Products & Materials
Effetto Venturi GiPSy-mini
Stand 07.300F
Fastmount VL-PF3 Recessed Mount Acoustic Clip
Stand 01.404
Sace Components CorkMood
Stand 12.237
About the DAME Design Awards
Great end-to-end design is vital to improve manufacturing efficiency and product reliability. It plays a key role in sustainability and enables the marine industry to match the experiences of its customers when engaging with products from exemplar sectors such as automotive and consumer electronics. The DAME Design Awards raise awareness of the need for a total design approach to marine equipment design, from aesthetics to functionality, integration to packaging and price efficiency to lifecycle management. It encourages continuous improvement and enables Metstrade exhibitors from around the world to have their efforts assessed by experts and benchmarked in the marketplace.
This year the DAME Jury inspected 146 entries from 37 countries. It nominated a total of 67 products for inclusion in the DAME Design Awards showcase which were then entered in the final rounds of judging. The Jury identified a winner for each of the eight DAME categories. From these an overall DAME Design Award winner was chosen. The Jury also identified 18 Special Mentions (commended runner-up entries) and named two Environmental Design Award winners.
See www.damedesignawards.com for more information and the full Jury report.
DAME Design Awards Jury 2025
- Andre Hoek (Chair), naval architect and yacht designer, founder of Hoek Design and Hoek Brokerage, The Netherlands (not able to participate in the Jury days for medical reasons)
- Patrick Hemp (Acting Chair), technical director, International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), South Africa
- Davide Cipriani, boat and industrial designer, president of yacht design at Centrostiledesign, Italy
- Rory Coase, yacht designer, Coase Design, Norway
- Scarlett Harris, guest student jury member for 2025, First-Class Honours degree in BSc Product Design, Bournemouth University, UK
- Arjen Jansen, senior lecturer, School for Industrial Design Engineering at TUDelft, The Netherlands
- Amy Munroe, sustainability consultant, Foxall Munro, UK (attended remotely)
- Alexandra Foineau Oakley, yacht surveyor, France
- Olivier Racoupeau, naval architect and boat designer, founder and owner of Berret Racoupeau Yachts, France
- Klaus Roeder, yacht designer and surveyor, Germany
- Ben Stein, editor of Panbo marine electronics hub, USA
The DAME Jury is supported by a non-voting secretary, Kim Hollamby of Hollamby Partnership, UK. Read more about the DAME Jury at www.damedesignawards.com/jury