MOME Product Design student Flóra Sarodi has created a unique final year project that fills an unexpected, but important gap in Balaton transportation. The concept of BALABO, aka Balaton Boat was inspired by the designer’s own ordeal to get around the lake: her family has a summer residence in Pécsely, and she did her internship with a Balatonkenese-based company that manufactures electric boats. The two townships are not particularly far away, but she often had to make detours and resort to multiple means of transportation, such as bus, train and bike, to complete her daily commute. That’s when it struck her: it would be much more practical to hop into a boat and travel from one town to the other on water.
It sounds easy enough, but buying and storing a boat is fairly expensive, not to mention that you also need to get a license. These were the complications that gave Flóra Sarodi the idea to come up with an electric boat rental service that anyone can use without a license – the absolutely ingenious concept was based on the BUBI bicycle rental system. In accordance with current regulations, anyone, even those not in possession of a license, can drive boats shorter than seven meters that run on electricity instead of being powered by an internal combustion engine. What's even better is that such boats don’t need to pass safety inspections.
However, to achieve real mobility between the various townships or even between the north and the south shore, a wide network of docks with electric charging stations needs to be set up all over Balaton. By Flóra’s estimates, the starting point of the enterprise should be a minimum of 150 boats.
Boating=Freedom
Flóra did extensive research before designing every detail of the prototype: she put together a questionnaire about boating in general and the boating habits of individual users, which was filled out by more than 160 people. She received handy advice from several seasoned boatsmen, and her research also revealed that many people associate boating with freedom. It turns out that a lot of boats are not used as sports vehicles, but as a practical means of transportation: taking produce to the market, or bikes or surfboards from one spot to another. Flóra also went through the Lake Balaton Development Council’s directives pertaining to environmentally friendly transport possibilities.
The Zádor 22 prototype
After the research phase, Flóra got started with the design process of the boat she named Zádor. The name comes from Zádor Castle, one of Flóra’s favorite spots she takes regular hikes to – some of the other places she’s fond of include Káptalantóti and Szentbékkálla. The deck area is largely customizable; for example, it comes with a table that can sink into the floor. With only minor transformation, the boat becomes suitable for transporting bikes or surfboards, and it’s even safe for wheelchair users. Flóra created two designs: one has curved lines inspired by the view of sailboats from the Tihany Abbey, while the other is a prismatic shape. The colors were also borrowed from the lake, such as Balaton’s characteristic turquoise that you can see so often around Tihany.
