The Rotork Sea Truck is a flat-hulled, high-speed watercraft, similar to a small landing craft. Made from fibreglass, they may be used to land vehicles without jetties or harbour facilities. They were designed by the design team at Smallfry in the 1970s.[1]

History

The vehicle was designed by the design team at Smallfry[1] led by designer Tim Fry and Anthony Smallhorn with input from James Dyson while he was a student in the 1970s, as part of his final year's project at the Royal College of Art.

Jeremy Fry was co-designer, along with Dyson, who was working at Rotork at the time. Dyson used the Sea Truck as part of his final year's project at the Royal College of Art.[2]

It happened to be the first engineering project for Dyson of the Dyson company, as he had not even learned welding before. He and Fry built the prototype together.[3]

The craft was manufactured by Rotork Marine in Bath, England.[4] It was a high-speed "flat-hulled fiberglass landing craft that could deliver cargo where no harbor or jetty was available."[5]

According to Wired Magazine and Dyson, it was described as a "Welsh dresser on water," with Dyson saying he learned not to prioritize conventional appearances with his projects, as "what it did, it did rather well."[6]

It was adopted for use by the oil and construction industries, as well as military use, and could carry three tons at 50 miles per hour.[7] In 1973, the Sea Truck was used by the Egyptian army in the Yom Kippur war.[8]

Awards

In 1975, Dyson won the Duke of Edinburgh's Special Prize for his work on the Sea Truck.[5]

In 1979, the Sea Truck won the Design Council Award for Engineering Products,[9][10] and the Series 5 Sea Truck, credited to the Rotork Marine Design team with Tim Fry and Anthony Smallhorn of Smallfry Ltd. as consulting designer won the Prince Philip Designers Prize.[11]

Versions

There were five versions of the Sea Truck. Jeremy Fry invented the original Sea Truck and the Mark 2 version. Dyson as a student was involved in the Mark 3. The Mark 5 designed under John Fry by Mike Ross and styled by Tim Fry and Anthony Smallhorn won the design award.

References

  1. 1 2 "Celebrating Smallfry for 45 Years Today\!". Smallfry. Tagdraw Limited. 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. ↑ Shambler, Thomas (December 8, 2016). "The key to Sir James Dyson's success (despite 5,127 failures)". www.arabianbusiness.com. Arabian Business. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  3. ↑ Taylor, Chris (March 3, 2016). "Even billionaires start with small first jobs". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved July 27, 2019. "In my last year at the Royal College of Art, I met Jeremy Fry, chairman of the engineering company Rotork (ROR.L). He invited me to his home for dinner, and that's where it all began. I wanted him to invest in a building I had designed for a theater in London. He said, 'I'm not going to give you any money, but I'll give you a few jobs. Under his wing I worked on my first engineering project, the Sea Truck, a high-speed amphibious landing craft. We built the first prototype together. He pointed me to the welding gear and said, 'Go do it.' I'd never used any welding gear, but I did it. He let me make mistakes and learn things myself. After we finished the prototype, I said, 'Now what?' He said, 'We make it.' And then? 'We sell it.' It was simple as that."
  4. ↑ "Rotork Sea Truck". Rotork Marine (archived). Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Suck It Up: James Dyson Discovers The Power Behind a Great Vacuum". inventorsdigest.com. Inventor's Digest. December 9, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ Burton, Charlie (October 22, 2011). "The seventh disruption: How James Dyson reinvented the personal heater". wired.com. Wired. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ "10 awesome inventions from James Dyson". www.cbsnews.com. CBS News. 15 September 2011.
  8. ↑ Wembridge, Mark (May 12, 2013). "Rotork's famous sons". www.ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Sea truck". Design Council Slide Collection. Visual Arts Data Service. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Alan Ponsford (bio)". Speakers for Schools. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Prince Philip Designers Prize: 1979-1988". Design Council. Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
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