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20 “I was fortunate to grow up boating around Boston Harbour and Cape Cod Bay, which led to a profound respect for the marine environment and the need to protect it,” says Geoff Douglass, development manager for ASVs at SeaRobotics, recalling the experiences that nudged him towards a career in marine engineering. “As a kid, my father managed a yacht maintenance company and put me to work early, fixing old engines and rigging old motor yachts. It didn’t take me long to realise that being a boat mechanic was not my calling, but it did help me develop a mechanically inclined mind and a passion for yacht design,” he adds. “I have always been fascinated with design and how it moves people, for example how a vintage Corvette has the power to turn heads.” These influences led him to focus on the sciences at school and to take a mechanical engineering degree, although he admits to regretting not taking more art classes to develop his aesthetic sense, which he regards as important in his design work these days. From yachts to ASVs He spent the early years of his career designing recreational yachts, an industry mostly made up of small companies like the ones he worked for, which didn’t have separate design and engineering departments. That enabled him to get involved with both disciplines from the start. However, the yacht industry was fairly conservative in terms of adopting modern design principles. He enjoyed it, but wanted something with a faster pace and a more progressive outlook, he says. SeaRobotics’ development manager for ASVs talks to Peter Donaldson about the inspirations behind his work Beneath the surface October/November 2019 | Unmanned Systems Technology