Why You Should Hire an Architect

2010 September 8
by squadron

An architect is a highly qualified professional who has experience in planning, designing and the construction of buildings and the management of construction projects.

Also, one is not considered an architect until he or she has properly passed all the necessary courses and accredited programs to procure a license in order to practice architecture. When practicing architecture, the architect can have freedom to design the building or group of buildings, as well as the space around it that still counts as part of the property. These ideas form the planning stage of the project and can take months to finalise.

The reason why architects are so important to the success of any building plan is simple: they can put your ideas into a feasible and plausible reality. If you have great ambitions for your home or business, then an architect can ensure that those plans will come true.

But aside from the actual design of the building, there are so many other complex factors (beyond the scope of inexperienced people) that need to be thought out, and these are also covered in the responsibilities of the architect.

For example, there are some architectural firms that not only design the building for you, but they also prepare the bid documents for the costing of of the entire project, and are the ones that most commonly talk to the contractors, stakeholders and any third parties involved in the assignment.

When you hire an architect, you will not have to be confused by by all the small technical details. All you have to be concerned about is if whether or not the building is coming along according to the plans originally devised with the help of the architect.

The architect is also very helpful before construction begins. If you do not have an actual plan but do have an idea on what you want your structure to look like, then that is where the professional can help you on the project.

All you have to do is to present them with some ideas and they can be the ones to take care of site analysis, the assistance you may need in zoning and planning, any environmental impact studies you may need, tendering and contract negotiation with the contractor and his men, and so much more.

The architect that you hire will be involved in all of the aspects of your project. Essentially, you are hiring an architect because you require a trained professional to take carriage of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire assignment.

Engaging an architect is like taking on a business partner for your project, one who is knowledgeable, knows the risk areas around the project and knows how to minimize those risks, has the necessary people skills to work with contractors in order to hire additional resources within budget.

A good architect will treat the project as though it is his or her own and will devise creative ideas and plans to the manager, and discuss in great detail the advantages, disadvantages, any hindrances of a particular strategy.

These are just some of the many important benefits and key reasons why you should engage an architect. There are so many more reasons that really prove that any project worth going through with has to be under the supervision of a highly qualified architect. In the end, it all boils down to the fact that you have a dream construction project, and your architect is the person to make all these dreams become reality.

Looking for Brisbane architects? For renovation architects Brisbane, contact Dion Seminara Architecture. They are leading home improvement architects. Brisbane office is located in Morningside.

Tents and Marquees

2010 September 2
by squadron

marquees-pavillion-3Event Tents, such as wedding tents are for when you want to make a fabulous outdoor scene. They are generally structures installed at a location for a period of time.

Why A Tent?
Commercial Tents are used as protection from the sun, rain or a gathering place. They can make a stunning and creative atmosphere for any event.

Tent Rentals
Tents can be rented or leased for a day, a weekend, weeks, months, etc. For one or two day events, the Tents are usually installed a few days before the event, depending on scheduling and weather, and remain until a few days after the event. Many rentals are quoted for the entire week, allowing for time to set up and design the interior and exterior. Some Tents are built for exceedingly long-term events and have been installed and remain installed for years.

What Kind of Tent Should I Rent?
Tent rental companies come in all sizes – from small-sized companies with just a few Tents to exceedingly large-sized companies – carrying dozens of several sizes and styles of Tents. Some general rental companies rent from tent rental companies to accommodate their client’s needs.

You may know you want to use a standard Tent for your event, or your event planner may already have in mind to use a Tent. You have options! There are lots of other spectacular
structures and Tent styles out there. Some are unique and make a statement of their own. Ask the rental company you’re working with for a list of the type styles they have on hand.

Usually, the varying types of Tents available in most companies are (the names vary depending of the company):

Folding Tents Easy and fast to use and always in demand. Very popular, because usually is the less expensive tent. Fast, flexible, cost effective and long lasting.

They are used by:

  • Corporate brands across most industries
  • Government & Council buyers
  • SME business marketers
  • Franchisees
  • Agricultural exhibitors
  • Emergency services & community groups
  • Folding Tents create brand exposure opportunities.
  • You can reach your audience at the right time, in the right place with the right message.

Inflatable Tents An exciting and entertaining alternative Tent. Easy & fast to set up. Be sure they have removable printed roof because in that way you can share the investment with other licences.

What Size Tent Will I Need?

The size of Tent depends on a few factors:

1. The number of guests you expect
2. Layout or seating arrangements or the style of event:

* Reception with what type of tables?
* Speaker engagement with what type of seating?
* Will you need a dance floor?
* Will you need display areas for your products?

If you are interested in a Tent, you can expect to need about 2,000 – 2,500 square feet for 200-seated guests. That could mean a 40 x 60 size Tent (Always ask the Tent rental vendor directly and they’ll give you the best informationabout the size of Tent you’ll need).

Therefore, the key rule is; know what you are going to use your tent for. The choice of tents is incredible, almost on par with the choice of cars that you can buy.

So if you need a tent for the family BBQ, for example, your needs are fairly rudimentry
and your budget may be low. Look for cheap tents that offers a waterproof Polyester roof and a good warranty for under $600.

If you need a tent for a school or sports club you will need a diverse range of sizes, and colours. Most plain colour Tents s range between $995- $2900. If you are keen to promote yourself, you can have your names printed for around $150-$300. Printing logos usually cost a little more.

In the last 5 years, portable Tents have become important to businesses for their marketing. The key need for these buyers is a prominent and quality reproduction of their logo. Sign written or printed Tents can be as boring as a website address or they can be a design extravaganza.

Remember, if it is for commercial purposes, the aim is to build recognition of your company with your printed Tent. Printed corporate Tents range in price from $1500- $4000. Good ones will really catch your eye.

Once you have decided on what sort of buyer you are and how you are going to use your Tents, a good Tents company will offer you a choice of frames, a warranty of between 3-5 years and help with formulating the printing-if you need it.

For more information about tents, contact Extreme Marquees. We have a range of cheap tents, for all sorts of home and business applications.

New Zealand’s Top Holiday Cities

2010 August 23

New Zealand has a radiant array of astounding landscapes. Like imposing mountain ranges, majestic coastlines, breathtaking rainforests, deep fiords, snow capped mountains and steaming volcanoes. These picturesque wonders have all made New Zealand an attractive destination for all kinds of holidays.

Amazing travel packages and holiday specials are available on quality accommodation in modern city hotels and luxurious wilderness lodges at discounted prices. Among the top holiday cities in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a celebrated online specialist travel operator and provides wonderful tourist services for New Zealand. Travel Online provides an instant quote and booking service for accommodation in cities right across the country.

Queenstown
The international resort town of Queenstown is situated on the shoreline of Wakatipu Lake. This beautiful region is among the most scenic locations on the globe. Throughout the year adventurous and exciting sports like jet boating, bungy jumping, and white water rafting take place. This town is the epicentre of the entire world’s bungy jumping activities too. With the advent of winter, the town gets transformed to an alpine wonderland with snowboarders and skiers from all corners of the world assembling at the annual Winter Festival.

There is constant demand for Queenstown Accommodation all round the year and Travel Online offers a select group of hotels best suited for New Zealand holidays. 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedroom apartments, with modern facilities, gyms, spas and fantastic views are available at various holiday retreats across the city. Larger apartments with more bedrooms, tennis courts, private jetties and fitness centres are also available at a higher price. Luxury complexes with studio rooms in the vicinity of cafes, bars, and restaurants are also found in Travel Online’ Queenstown Accommodation selection.

Christchurch
When choosing a place to stay in Christchurch look for hotels that give views over the wonderful Victoria Square, across the mesmerizing Avon River or towards the epochal Anglican Cathedral. Situated on New Zealand’s South Island, this cosmopolitan city is always abuzz with fantastic festivals, shopping spots, theaters and art galleries. Hotels overlooking Victoria Square provide visitors with an insight in to the city’s English history.

Individuals staying in the vicinity of the Christchurch Cathedral will find hotel rooms with a Manhattan-style feel. Tradition and elegance are everywhere in these hotels along with a keen eye on service excellence. Luxurious bedrooms with full-fledged kitchen facilities are common, along with hi-tech conference facilities, resort-like leisure features like spas, saunas, gyms, and swimming pools. Many of these hotels provided by Travel Online are located in the vicinity of the Technology Park, the International Antarctic Centre, and the airport. Travelers who want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan life will find suitable accommodation in the brilliantcountryside surrounding the city.

Auckland
Auckland, also known as the City of Sails, is located in between 2 harbors and has more boats per person than anywhere on the planet. Within minutes a person has the choice of sailing away on yachts to isolated nearby islands, living the sweet life in the casino, surfing at lots of beaches or tasting the exotic wines at local vineyards. Hotels come in stylish and comfortable studios, and luxurious executive / marina suites. Travel Online caters to the tastes of corporate and business tourists and can beat any price seen on Auckland accommodation advertised. Auckland harbor is breathtaking, and is seen perfectly from atop Sky City and the surrounding accommodation.

Affordable and comfortable apartments are available for casual tourists, equipped with kitchens, laundries, and balconies to provide a wonderful holidaying experience. Visitors to Auckland love visiting the Antarctic Encounter, which showcases the only penguins present in the sub-Antarctic region. More encounters include cage-bereft shark dives, scuba expeditions and snorkel safaris. New Zealand is waiting.

Travel Online has a wide range of Queenstown accommodation close to all the snow action and cosmopolitan Christchurch accommodation surrounded by all that theatre and art. For holidays in and around the water, Auckland accommodation is as good as anywhere in the world.

Repairing Flooded Carpet: A cheap job is a good job right? Wrong….

2010 August 18
by squadron

Don’t permit a novice 24 hour carpet cleaner come to repair your water damaged carpets. These are the cautions you must be careful of:

Overcharging. An amateur water restoration cleaner may build the job up with extra inclusions. E.g. using dehumidification on the water damaged carpets may not be needed.

Having the correct equipment. They sometimes use equipment from hire places for the carpet. This is acceptable, but a professional water damage professional will have all their equipment so they can offer a quicker response and hopefully a better value job.

Does not have a proper moisture metre. If they don’t have the right moisture meter, they cannot see if the carpet is dry. This furthers the problem of future mould growth. Removal of the mould may be required in the future.

Specialisation. There are a lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do water damage repair work on the “side.” i.e. they aren’t those who take on this type of repair each day. Be careful of that. Restoring carpet water damage is an art. Taking carpet off the gripper strips then reinstalling them must be taken on by a professional, otherwise they can be permanently damaged.

You may be asking, how do I pick a credible Flood Restoration Business? Below I have listed some things to check for when hunting around for a carpet flood damage business:

How large is their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can signify how much work they have already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad can cost upwards of $50 000. If they have got a bigger ad, you get some promise that they will deliver the goods.

Where do they come up in Google? The higher the rank in Google, the more webpage clicks there are for the business.

What Qualifications do they have? The foundational qualification needed is a IICRC qualification for Applied Structural Drying and Water Damage Restoration.

Do Insurance companies source them for their water damage jobs? This is a better indicator. If insurance companies source them, the business is bound to be superb at their skill. Insurance companies will use the providers that grant them the better value for their money.

What Equipment do they have? They should own a minimum of 100 Air movers. If they have this many, this could indicate they have been going for a good while. Our business took 8 years to own that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What sort of commitment can you get with them by calling on the phone? See if you can pin them down to a set rate for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they won’t give you a fee for this at the least, you know they are not going to serve you, so keep looking.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane-based business works to a 59 minute response time for water damage emergency. The repair needs to be done ASAP. Mould can grow inside a 24 hour period.

If you go by these tips you are sure to choose a Flood Damage Restoration company who knows what they are doing.

If you have carpet water damage Brisbane, call us for flooded wet carpet drying. Brisbane storm season is approaching and you may need storm damage carpet cleaning. Brisbane and surrounding areas serviced.

Eight Steps to Great Web Design

2010 August 7
by squadron

Take control of getting your site established by a developer and comprehend the process it will save you money and get you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Comprehending your business and how you are currently positioned in your market.
In order to establish a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full knowledge of your business including your products, and/or services and more importantly their market position. You then have to examine how you want to explain your business and what it offers in 7 seconds or less. Sounds impossible? Well that is the average time that a user will consider the point “is this site I searched for?”.

2. Budget and estimation
Have a budget in mind and don’t be afraid to let the developers know what it is. In saying this: BE REALISTIC, $500 will never see a great web site created, nor will they be anything left in the bank to market it.

3. The creative process
Be armed with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can acquire an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will build a good profile and realise not only what type of site to build for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for effective development. The more interaction and information you confer them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by achieving what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is made, the developers will more than likely acquire the general layout of this concept and then create the inner page template. It is this template that will be duplicated for most of your pages for your site.
Provide your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t become too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be preserved when the content is copied into the code of the site. It is inferred that you do use bolding, underlining, headings and sub heading though ,as these highlights are transferred into the site and are very important later on in not only establishing with the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; provide a decent amount of content but formulate it in a way that a reader may achieve a summary of what you are trying to get across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

5. Development Programming and CMS
If your website contains Content Managed Areas (CMS) or has any other dynamic sections the developers will wrap your design around a content management program such as Joomla or Drupal or they may have a custom built system. Make sure that you get to see how the CMS system operate on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can utilize and comprehend the system when your site is complete.

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been created for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not work 100% first time round. This is a where things can get ugly in the process you must understand the way the program works and test it as if you were normal website user. If it doesn’t make sense to you, chances are it won’t make sense to your audience. Make sure you test your website on more than just your browser, try to test it on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. All of these browsers are on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to bring your site live make sure you have finished the above testing step until you are certain that this website is the best representation of your business / product it can be. Remember even though you can change things after going live it is still a poor reflection on your business if there are spelling mistakes or broken images when you launch.

8. Marketing
There is little point in having a website if nobody visits it, make sure as part of you contract you have considered search engine optimisation and or search engine marketing as part of your website build. This is the absolute most important factor of the whole process. If you are the only one looking at your site then you are in trouble.

Remember Search Engine Optimisation is about 30% Onsite (getting your site correct for Search Engine to index correctly) and 70% Promotion. Any developer who tells you otherwise hasn’t been in the industry too long.

For more information about web design Brisbane, contact Web Site Blue. Our web designers understand marketing as well as design.

Tips to Creating a New Business Logo

2010 August 6

A logo is a imperative step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face expresses the tone of your business, indicates the service and reveals the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the creation of their logo and walk away with no artwork files. Then a couple months down the track when they require to put signage on their new building they cannot track the design studio down that created the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it redone. This is needless and may cause obstacles when trying to replecate the logo exactly as determined originally.

We have created some basic tips you for to think about when creating a logo. Hopefully these will help you from experiencing any future difficulties.

Tip 1
First things first – you need to decide if you would like your logo to have an accompanying icon. It is hinted that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will assist in getting a clear message across to your target audience.

An icon can add an extra element to your branding in that you could use the icon on its own on collateral where perhaps you are sighting for a more illustrative finish without losing recognition.

A good example of this is the well-known and executed Fedex logo.

Tip 2
Colour can be an crucial decision as it not only could influence the output costs but can also margin your output use. Consider the end result and what you will be putting your branding onto in the future. Make sure your designer is aware of this as they should design accordingly.

Tip 3
Make sure you get a back up disk of your logo as a master file and confirm that it includes all the files required for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Ensure you have a copy of your logo as a PDF – with the text converted to curves.

Tip 4
Using images in your logo is not very easy to manage. For example it is difficult to reverse into black and white. Images also have limitations when it comes to size – they can only be reproduced to a certain size before they start pixilation.

Tip 5
Using gradients in your logo is not recommended. This too can have limitations when it comes to output for ie: gradients are hard to reproduce when embroidering fabrics.

Tip 6
Make certain sure the font is legible. Some logos need to be reproduced on small pieces of collateral ie: post stamps. It is important that in this case the text is
readable

Tip 7
Ensure that you acquire a copy of your logo in CMYK high resolution 300 dpi (for printing use) and RGB 72 dpi(for web use).

Tip 8
It is important to have a style guide of your logo. It will clearly show you how to use your logo so it looks exactly the same every time it is reproduced. This allows you to keep your corporate image consistent.

Tip 9
Make sure that you get a letter from the design studio declaring that you own the copyright to your logo.

If you follow these tips then not only will you accept a well-designed logo but you will also own the artwork. And when it comes to reproducing your collateral you will be doing it the most cost effective way.

For logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today for a free two hour consultation.

How to Create a Style Guide

2010 July 31
by squadron

How many times have you mailed business cards to print and picked up yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been enthusiastic to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then recognized that the crucial tag line is not present or your logo has been wrecked.

There is only one way to thwart this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide help you direct the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you extend your brand recognition – which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.

We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.

Step 1 : Mark the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to work in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Define what your output uses are. This is important because you will want different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

Step 3 : Define the tone for the copy and content required. For example you may needcopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.

Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to refer to the business and team.

Step 4 : Make certain you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding lies on all the different pieces of collateral that may be reprinted.

Step 5 : Confirm to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are associated with you. It’s also important that you send a copy of the layout to these companies to guarantee they agree with the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

Step 6 : Assure that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.

Step 7 : Confirm that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be approved as correct.

Have your Style Guide completed and as secure as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly advise a training session – whereby your design studio comes in and trains your staff on how to put to work the Style Guide and most importantly your brand.

For graphic design Brisbane, logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today. We help your brand build business.

Projectors: LCD Verses DLP (The downfall of DLP technology)

2010 July 19

The typical question that is asked when purchasing a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: would I purchase an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, standing for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, short for ‘digital light processing’ are the two top projector imaging technologies. With so many business brands and models available, it can be confusing for clients to choose between these technologies. It comes down to the fact that LCD projectors offer far better image quality and colour accuracy. The next part of this article will tell you why DLP projectors struggle with reproducing a comparable rate of image quality.

Imagine a set of blinds in your house for your bedroom window. By a twist of a rod you can turn the shutters open or closed, depending on whether you want to let light in or not. Such is exactly how an LCD projector operates. Each pixel operates like its own shutter on a set of blinds to either pass light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is made up of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as the pros like to call them. Each pixel element operates to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from when the projector turns on to when the picture reaches your screen is absolutely significant in regard to image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors direct white light from the lamp by dividing it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which transfer the coloured light to 3 stand alone LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels create the elements of the image by shining each pixel on and off. The pixels are then meshed in a glass prism to create the projector image. A point to know about LCD projectors is that all three colours are delivered onto your projected surface at once. The way a DLP projector functions is totally different and even the produced image shows up is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is processed through a turning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This approach to creating an image creates a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors as described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to form the image elements. The elements of the image are cast in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eyes will then draw each coloured element of the image into a single complete image. Using LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to create the highest brightness and fantastic colour accuracy. In DLP, just one colour is available at a time, resulting in lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some manufacturers have put a white segment for the colour wheel to improve brightness generally, but this also detracts from colour accuracy.

I find in forums all the time that DLP gives a higher contrast ratio and therefore must be superior quality. For those who don’t know, the contrast ratio is a measure of a display system defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest white to that of the darkest black that the technology is capable of. DLP projectors do have high contrast specifications when compared to most LCD projectors. At first glance, this must be an advantage, however, in truth, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room in which the projector is utilised. Do not be hoodwinked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you are trying to project needs moving images, DLP projection technology also has image marks, or ‘artifacts’. The most often seen artifact that a DLP projector displays with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is incontrovertible in DLP systems because moving images keep changing between the time red, blue and green colours are projected. LCD projectors do not have this disadvantage because all colours are delivered simultaneously. DLP manufacturers have come up with 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to solve the colour break up artifacts, but the price tag of these projectors make them almost impossible for many businesses and consumers.

Another differentiation between LCD and DLP is how they match the balance for the refractive qualities of light. Jump back to high school science, and they taught you how various colours of light refract various amounts when directed through the same lens. The disadvantage with DLP projectors is that they use the one same panel for the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are different and refract light at different levels. Most of the time with a DLP projector, some yellow colour will show above and a spill of blue will appear below an image containing something as simple as a straight black line. In manufacturing LCD projectors can be adjusted to minimize these effects on the projected image, because each colour is refracted on its own LCD panels.

The one actual benefit (excluding price) with deciding on a DLP projector is its overall smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant with regard to mobility and cannot be traded off against the image advantages of LCD projectors. If the result of the picture quality is important to you, then the choice is no-brainer. Go for an LCD projector! LCD projectors will definitely create bright, colourful images with fewer image mistakes. If you wish to ask more about LCD technology in more detail, check out this tremendous resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any persisting questions, visit Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager for Projector Central, Australia’s premier online shop for projectors. Brisbane-based, Projector Central has been servicing Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in the Gold Coast and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.

Yachting and Yacht Clubs

2010 July 16

As the Dutch came to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the first yacht had been a leisure craft used initially by royalty and secondly by the burghers for the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts was incidental, borne from private matches. English yachting started with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his reaffirmation to the English royalty in 1660, the city of Amsterdam sent him a 20-metre (66-foot) leisure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he called Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, sovereign 1685–88), ordered for additional yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and the same way back, on a £100 wager. Yachting was found to be fashionable for the wealthy and royalty, but after that point the trend did not last.

The first yacht club in the British Isles, the Water Club, was formed at about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard organization, with large naval panoply and rigour. The closest thing to racing boats was the “chase,” for which the “fleet” pursued a fictional enemy. The club persisted, largely as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, when merging with other groups, it was known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing began in some stipulated manner on the Thames around the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland instigated the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV ascended to the throne in 1820, it was then named the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded following a racing argument, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht club had been formed at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal funding made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the continued location of British yacht racing. The society at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, also at the accession of George IV. Each member was required to own boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing races for large bets were held, and the social life was lovely. Eventually Royal Yachting Club boats grew in size to more than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting started with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and continued when the English took control. Sailing was largely for leisure and found its apogee in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which sailed on the Mediterranean Sea and established a benchmark of luxury and elegance for the later yachts in the area from the late 19th century. The first persisting American yacht organisation, the Detroit Boat Club, was formed in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens began the New York Yacht Club while aboard his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
Early sailing yachts were within the style of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century through the latter half of the 19th century. The craft of large yachts was originally greatly put upon by the success of America, which was designed by George Steers for a group started by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) was named after its win at Cowes in 1851. Early yachts were not designed and manufactured in today’s sense, with just a model used. Not until the second half of the 19th century did what was labeled naval architecture come about. Not until the 1920s did the application of the research of aerodynamics do for the structure of sails and rigging what it had done earlier for hulls.

Because most of all sailboats were individually manufactured, there came a requirement for handicapping boats as this was before the one-design class boats were designed. Therefore, a rating rule came into being, which is found in the International Rule, taken on in 1906 and edited in 1919. In modern times, one of the rapidly flourishing areas in sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are manufactured to standard specifications in length, beam, sail area, and other elements (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing for such boats can be held on an even playing field with no handicapping at all. A perfect example is the uniform International America’s Cup Class taken on board for yachts in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

So long as yachting was an activity primarily for the royal and the rich, money was no object, and the size of boats increased, in both length and weight. The promotion and desire of smaller craft occurred in the second half of the 19th century from the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A journey around the world (1895–98) captained single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray proved the seaworthiness of less sizeable boats. Later in the 20th century, for the larger part after World War II, smaller racing and recreational boats became more popular, down to the dinghy, a favoured training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, craft of less than 3 m were setting sail single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
Following the decade 1840–50, in which steam was set to emulate sail power in market vessels, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were increasingly used in personal craft. Bigger power yachts were developed to a high standard, and long-distance cruising became a favourite occupation of the wealthy. The early power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; those then gave way to those powered by the wholly submerged screw or propeller sort of propulsion. Like naval and merchant boats, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht fashion for several years. By the later half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the large part were solely power yachts with gasoline or diesel engines.

In the last decade of the 19th century there was a rise in the manufacture of more sizeable steam yachts. Conspicuous within these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, containing triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was sailed by a crew of over 150. The Mayflower, commissioned by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and gave active service for World War II.

As more sizeable and better quality internal-combustion engines were developed, many big boats were using them for power. The establishment of the diesel engine, with heavy oil for fuel, was furthered during World War I. In the decade after that, bigger power-yacht building flourished, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that time the largest auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of larger power yachts declined in 1932, and the trend thereafter was for smaller, less costly craft. From World War II, a lot of small naval craft were traded by private owners for conversion to yachts. In the late 20th century, yachting is a widespread popular activity enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen individually sailing and upkeeping their own small leisure craft. The popularity of yachts and owners has increased steadily, not only in the traditional areas on the sea but also on inland waterways and lakes.

Looking for boat transport Gold Coast ? Talk to Elite Yacht Services. We do great work at competitive prices.

Proportional, Progressive, and Regressive taxes

2010 July 8

Taxes are distinguished by the effect they have on the allocation of income and wealth. A proportional tax is the kind of tax that impinges the same relative requirement on each taxpayer—i.e., in the case where tax liability and income grow in relative proportion. A progressive tax is characterizable by a higher than proportional growth in the tax liability in relation to the growth in income, and a regressive tax is recognised by a less than proportional increase in the comparative liability. Thus, progressive taxes are thought of as reducing the lack of equality in income distribution, while regressive taxes are found to have the effect of an increase in these inequalities.

The taxes that are usually regarded as progressive include individual income taxes and estate taxes. Income taxes that are nominally progressive, however, might become less so for the upper-income demographic—especially if a taxpayer is permitted to reduce his tax base by claiming deductions or by taking some income parts from his taxable income. Proportional tax rates which are applied to lower-income demographics would also be more progressive if such personal exemptions are claimed.

Income measured over the period of a year does not necessarily provide the most appropriate measure of taxpaying requirements. For example, transitory growth in income might be saved, and within temporary declines in income a taxpayer might choose to finance consumption by taking from savings. Ergo, if taxation is made comparable alongside “permanent income,” it should be less regressive (or more progressive) than when it is compared with annual income.

Sales taxes and excises (except luxuries) are usually regressive, because the dissemination of own income consumed or spent for specific goods declines as the rate of personal income rises. Poll taxes (also termed head taxes), levied as a set amount per capita, obviously are regressive.

It is hard to classify corporate income taxes and taxes on business as progressive, regressive, or proportionate, because of a lack of certainty around the ability of businesses to shift their tax expenses (see below Shifting and incidence). This difficulty of dictating who bears the tax burden is dependant fundamentally on whether a national or a subnational (that is, provincial or state) tax is being decided.

In assessing the economic purposes of taxation, it is necessary to differentiate between differing concepts of tax rates. The statutory rates are specified in the law; often these are marginal rates, but in some cases they are average rates. Marginal income tax rates signify the fraction of incremental income demanded by taxation when income is increased by one dollar. Hence, if tax burden increases by 45 cents when income increases by one dollar, the marginal tax rate is 45 percent. Income tax legislature generally contain graduated marginal rates—i.e., rates that increase as income grows. Heavy analysis of marginal tax rates must regard provisions in addition to the formal statutory rate structure. If, for example, a particular tax credit (reduction in tax) lowers by 20 cents for each one-dollar growth in income, the marginal rate is 20 percentage points greater than specified within the statutory rates. Since marginal rates indicate how after-tax income changes in response to changes in before-tax income, they are the important ones for appraising incentive effects of taxation. It is even more complicated to nominate the marginal effective tax rate applicable to income from business and capital, since it may be dependant on factors such as the structure of depreciation allowances, the deductibility of interest, and the provisions for inflation adjustment. A basic economic theorem determines that the marginal effective tax rate in income from capital is zero under a consumption-based tax.

Average income tax rates indicate the percentage of total income that is paid in taxation. The pattern of average rates is the one that is relevant for judging the distributional equity of taxation. Under a progressive income tax the average income tax rate increases with income. Average income tax rates commonly grow with income, both because personal allowances are allowed for the taxpayer and dependents and due to that marginal tax rates are graduated; on the flip side, preferential treatment of income received predominantly by high-income households may dampen these effects, allowing regressivity, as indicated by average tax rates that lessen as income increases.

For MYOB Brisbane expert advice, contact Stone Consulting today. Stone Consulting also runs MYOB training in Brisbane.