[Paddlewise] Boat testing

Off list I got asked if I never used subjective testing.

I do but mostly for things that have little to do with performance. For
example I have done some studies on the effect of colour on buyers through
my association with the Colour Marketing Group.

I also like to hear how they feel about aesthetics, cockpit and seat fit and
such.

Why don't I have a lot of confidence in subjective performance testing? I
have probably told this story before but I think it bears retelling.

A good many years back a company took two fibreglass canoes to a symposium -
both built from the same mould using the same laminate and within a few
pounds of each other. One had a red hull with wood trim the other had a
white hull with aluminium trim.

We told a  group of top level paddlers that the two boats differed in
underwater hull shape and we wanted their opinion on which had the best
performance before we committed to full scale production. Each "expert" said
the red boat handled better, had more speed, better acceleration etc. etc.
etc.

The test results did have some value I learned that colour and trim sell
boats.

Subjectivity in boat evaluation has a lot of value, not so much in what it
tells us about boats but what it tells us about how people perceive boats.
That in itself makes it worthwhile since we design boats for  people but I
think it means more to designers than to buyers.

Cheers,

John Winters
Redwing Designs
Web site address http://home.ican.net/~735769





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