A Hove engineer's designs for a boat of the future were featured at the Southampton Boat Show.

Gareth Roberts displayed his entry in the Concept Boat 2002 competition at the recently held show.

The idea for the Folding Beach Cat came to Mr Roberts after he arrived in the Netherlands for a sailing competition with his catamaran in tow, only to be told the event had been cancelled.

He returned home and started work on a design for a four-hulled catamaran that would fold down and fit on a car roof-rack.

Mr Roberts, a member of Brighton Sailing Club, has designed other boats, including a high-performance canoe which is being manufactured by a firm in Arundel.

He said: "After towing my catamaran across to the Netherlands only to tow it back again, I thought there must be an easier way of handling a boat."

The folding mechanism allows the 5m by 3m catamaran with an 8.5m mast to fold down to 2.8m by 1.6m by 0.6m.

Mr Roberts hopes exposure at the show will persuade a business to take up the project and develop it as a commercial enterprise.

The Folding Beach Cat will be one of 20 finalists in the competition in a display at the show.

Entrants were challenged to design a transportable boat of the future as part of a drive by the British Marine Federation and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects to boost the global small craft industry and inject new dynamism and innovation into boat design.

The Folding Beach Cat has two pairs of tandem floats. Its rear floats pivot to steer the vessel, which is designed for sailing off beaches.

The judges were impressed with the ingenious folding mechanism and method of steering and also liked the larger-than-average deck.

Mr Roberts, a mechanical engineer with several years' experience in automotive design, redirected his skills to catamarans because he is a keen sailor.

James Gower, a director at the British Marine Federation, said:

"The Folding Beach Cat shows imagination and creativity, as well as the practicality that is an essential part of boat design.

"Gareth is making a valuable contribution to the future of the British marine industry and I wish him every success in eventually finding someone to manufacture it."