Describe the selected innovation/invention and discuss the design practice used in its development. Use appropriate images to illustrate this section of your report. Relate your discussion to the industry standards that applied at the time. Did this innovation challenge existing standards? Incat's wave piercing catamarans are a catamaran innovation through design and materials. The original catamaran was intended to be a fast and stable two-hulled boat, although in rough seas they were unable to maintain this stability. Incat's catamaran uses wave piercing technology to increase the speed and stability of the catamaran, through the innovation of a central wave piercing bow. Incat never patented the central bow design, instead relying on maintaining the technology in this field. Wave piercing The central bow of the catamaran, is designed in such a way that the buoyancy in the front portions is reduced, for this reason when approached by a wave due to the lack of buoyancy in the front proportions of the bow, the bow pierces instead the water to ride over the top. Because of this it provides a smoother ride and reduces the boat's wave resistance which slows the boat. The catamaran's two outer hulls known as SWARTH are designed to minimize the cross-sectional area of ​​the hull at the ocean surface, this minimizes the surface that waves are able to hit. This translates into higher speeds and greater stability especially in rough seas. The idea of ​​Incat's wave-piercing catamaran began in 1983, Phil Hercus in 1984 began the development of a wave-piercing catamaran. This design combined the hull design called SWARTH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) with a central bow designed by Phil Hercus...... center of card ....../teamaustralia/vessels_wave_piercing_catamaran.htm [Accessed: 24 February 2014].Hhpinsight.com. 2014. Incat's LNG ferry: "the fastest ship in the world" | HHPInsight.com. [online] Available at: http://hhpinsight.com/marine/2013/06/incats-lng-ferry-worlds-fastest-ship/ [Accessed: 24 February 2014].Incat.com.au. 2014. Casa degli Ingatti. [online] Available at: http://www.incat.com.au [Accessed: 24 February 2014].Powerhousemuseum.com. 2014. Wave Piercing Catamaran - Australia innovates - Powerhouse Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/australia_innovates/?behaviour=view_article&Section_id=1080&article_id=10089 [Accessed: 24 February 2014].Wikipedia. 2014. HSC INCAT 046. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSC_INCAT_046 [Accessed: 24 February 2014]. Wikipedia. 2014. Swarth. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarth [Accessed: 24 February 2014].