The pallet boat
Bernd Schreyer has built himself a boat. Many years ago. So far, so good. What is unusual, however, is what the hobby designer used back then: wooden pallets, old iron and lots of scrap metal - things that others wanted to throw away. Admittedly, the result looks rustic. But it cost next to nothing. Except for Schreyer's working time. He spent 14 years tinkering with his "Cadler". Pallets were turned into planks, rusty iron bars into fittings, old cloths into sails. And indeed, it worked, in the end the ship not only floated, it even sailed. Not fast, but still.
The ship in a bottle
It's hard to believe that the 60-foot-long, twelve-tonne catamaran "Plastiki", initiated by David de Rothschild around 15 years ago, contains 12,500 two-litre disposable plastic bottles. The heir to a financial empire knew how to use the means at his disposal to combine his own thirst for adventure with his desire to raise awareness of the threat to our planet. Like Thor Heyerdahl once did with his balsa raft "Kon-Tiki", "Plastiki" was to go on a great ocean expedition. In 2010, Rothschild and his crew hoisted the sails and crossed the Pacific. From San Francisco, they travelled 8,000 nautical miles to Sydney.
The flip-flop boat
They can even be found on the most remote beaches: the rubber sandals that are produced in their millions and are popular all over the world. All too often, lost or worn-out sandals end up in the sea and are carried away by the currents. To Africa, among other places. There, in the Kenyan coastal town of Lamu, the idea was born to give the flip-flops a second life. Members of a local environmental initiative built a dhow from them and other washed-up plastic waste. Since 2019, they have been sailing along the East African coast with the message on board: "Avoid plastic waste. Protect our planet!"
Holiday flat
At the Bathô shipyard south of Nantes, the hulls of disused boats are transformed into guest rooms, summer houses, offices or even conference rooms. There are no limits to the wealth of ideas. There is only one thing the ships no longer do: go to sea. Still, it's always better than ending up at the scrapper.
Sandpit
With this dinghy converted into an outdoor toy, it's safe to say it's been upcycled: the boat no longer looked in such good shape when it was rotting away in a harbour basin. Now little captains can take the helm and set off on adventures on the high seas - or simply have fun digging in the sand.
Further topics in the sustainability special:
- 25 tips to help you sail more environmentally friendly
- These projects are available for marine conservation
- Sailing yacht vs. motorboat: which model is more sustainable?
- Boatbuilding ecolution: These shipyards are working on sustainable concepts
- Shipyard portrait Greenboats: Boats made of flax and components for Boris Herrmann
- Sustainable fashion: oilskins and other functional clothing - the best products
- Boat recycling: the never-ending story of GRP
- Sail recycling: not just stylish bags - what happens to old cloth
- "Losing is not an option" - Boris Herrmann on sustainability in motorsport
- Sustainable management: Wooden boats in charter operations
- Equipment: Every sailor should reach for these green alternatives
- Drinking water on board: you can filter water correctly using these methods
- Baltic Sea: How does a harbour become sustainable?
- Research yachts: Climate protectors under sail
- Monsoon 31: Greenfit instead of refit, what does that mean for the 50-year-old Hallberg-Rassy?
- "Nomade des Mers": a catamaran as a low-tech laboratory
- Self-build yacht "Ya": Totally self-sufficient on a trip around the world
- Sustainable boat project: 55-foot catamaran made from recycled aluminium
- The Schwörer family and the "Pachamama": On a long voyage for climate protection
- Nike Steiger on her recycling project
