Research vessels are often the only mean to conduct research campaigns at sea or in remote locations. Research vessels can be classified according to their mission (instrumentation carried onboard, laboratories, etc.) and according to their class. It is possible to distinguish between ships devoted to hydrographic research, oceanographic research, fisheries research, naval research (mines, submarines detection), polar research, oil exploration. These categories are not mutually exclusive, thus, often research vessels are multi-role. It means that are equipped or can be reconfigured to carry out different missions. Considering vessel size, four different classes can be identified: the Global, Ocean, Regional and Local (IWG-F 2007, EurOcean 2021). Reference particulars for each class are provided in Table 1 along with the number of research vessels active in European fleets.

Boatbuilding industry is always in search for innovative technologies. This is especially true for pleasure vessel production, for which the high request from customers and the significant economic value of products call for more rapid construction methodologies able not to affect the elevate quality standard of manufactures. In this framework, boat-outfitting procedures can be shortened and simplified by exploiting modular design concepts. With reference to a 65-foot sailing yacht, the authors focused on proposing a modular product architecture approach for outfitting based on a frame in which both systems and flooring are integrated with each other. The use of advanced 3D modelling tools allowed obtaining a precise representation of the system/structure interfaces and the correct mounting sequence for each defined modulus. The proposed methodology was validated by comparing production times between the traditional approach and the modular one, with the latter turning out to be significantly lowered.