Sustainable Sailing develop plant-based composites

Sustainable Sailing Ltd © Sustainable Sailing

A newly developed and alternative to fibreglass, which could dramatically reduce the boating industry's carbon footprint has been approved for use.

Sustainable Sailing has developed a proof of concept 75% bio-based composite rudder blade, which has been approved for use in the Europe Dinghy class.

Unfortunately, the climate impact of boating is enormous, in part because the resin and foam used to build the hulls are derived from oil. In addition, the glass-fibre requires large amounts of energy to produce. At present, the vast majority of boats are built around a foam core, covered with glass-fibre reinforced by resin. This has resulted in hard wearing, easy to repair and strong boats which can last for an extremely long time, but with an enormous carbon footprint to build and maintain, and no clear recycling pathway at the end of their life.

By combining engineering advances with technology which replaces a large percentage of the crude oil derived components, Sustainable Sailing has been able to build components which are 75% bio-based. The technologies focused on were built from waste wood, which has been processed so it can be used instead of glass-fibre as the reinforcement in the composite. This is then combined with a resin which has had a large amount of its starting materials replaced with bio-based alternatives, while also reducing the amount of resin used. This is anticipated to have a dramatic reduction in the carbon footprint of the components, while maintaining or improving the performance profile of the components.

Sustainable Sailing is one of the few companies to have successfully built components using plant-based fibres and resins, which are used competitively, and is the only one in the UK which is focussing on dinghy components. The Founding Director, Dr Joe Penhaul Smith said: "by focussing on existing dinghies as a proof of concept for the technology and targeting components rather than complete boats, we have been able to iterate designs and technologies quickly at a minimal cost. This has meant that the Chlorofoils are now available for purchase by sailors of the Europe dinghy, without breaking the bank".

Not only are they available for purchase, but these Chlorofoils have now been approved for use in all UK racing events, with three Chlorofoils already in use in the UK Europe dinghy racing circuit. Luke Lazell, boatbuilder and mainstay of the Europe class has been testing the prototypes since the beginning of the year said: "the blade looks great, feels great and has proven itself in windy and wavey conditions, yet comes with the advances in new materials and sustainability".

Sustainable Sailing is currently developing this technology, not only to build a wider range of Chlorofoils for the Europe as well as other dinghy classes; this technology will also bring a dramatic improvement to the carbon footprint of all marine composites, so Sustainable Sailing is looking to apply these advances to complete boats and areas beyond the marine industry.

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