MYS 2026: Winch Design’s 40-Year Journey From Sailboat to Superyacht

Jim Dixon from Winch Design sat down with Shari at MYS to discuss what 40 years of the studio looks like from the inside, from its early yacht projects to the increasingly complex briefs shaping its work today.

The distance between that first Swan 36 and today's briefs is, in many ways, the real story. Client expectations have changed enormously over four decades, not only in scale and technical ambition, but in what clients are asking the studio to solve. Understanding that shift and staying ahead of it has been central to Winch Design's longevity.

That evolution is reflected in the studio's current workload. Winch has just delivered the interior for QU2, the latest Amels 60, while the Amels 242 Synthesis is on show at Monaco this year, with both projects forming part of Amels' Limited Editions platform. Designing within an established series brings a different discipline to bespoke work. The creative parameters may be more defined, but finding ways to give each interior its own identity presents a different kind of design challenge.

Central to Winch's approach, whether working within a series or on a fully bespoke project, is a simple principle: listen to the client first. Doing that well means understanding the difference between what a client asks for and what they actually need, something that becomes increasingly nuanced with experience.

That thinking also extends beyond the yacht world. Winch's work across aviation, residential and marine design allows ideas to move between disciplines, informing the studio's approach to space, flow, comfort and the way people experience their surroundings.

Forty years on, Winch Design continues to look forward rather than simply reflect on what has already been achieved. With Monaco providing the backdrop, Dixon and Shari explore how the studio's experience is shaping what comes next.