YACHT: Daniel, you are an actor and film producer and are currently in the process of having a sustainably manufactured aluminium catamaran built. What does one have to do with the other?
Daniel Roesner: A lot! Producing a film or producing a ship is essentially the same thing. You have to spend money and find people to work with you on the project. And everyone looks at you and asks: What's next?
So, what's next, what point are you at?
The design office team iYacht in Hamburg has packed all my wishes into one concept. The plans, known as the draft design, are now finalised. Now we are trying to find a shipyard that is motivated to realise all my crazy ideas.
Your plans are unusual. What kind of ship are you planning to build?
My brief was: I want the most environmentally friendly, toughest working ship on which you can live, shoot films and do research. Apart from that, I was given a free hand.
But there is another requirement, isn't there?
Yes, the boat is to be built completely sustainably. My dream has long been to live on a boat and explore the world on it. I love the sea, I spend at least an hour in it every day. However, I have realised that I am also ruining the sea with conventional GRP boats - for example with antifouling that washes off into the water. You can see from the many old boats that end up lying around somewhere or are even sunk that they are not designed to be sustainable and circular. As an adventurer, sailor and ocean lover, I thought: "It can't be true that nobody cares about this!" I don't want to be a part of it. That's why I decided not to buy a boat, but to try to do things differently.
How are you going to manage that?
The ship will be built entirely from recyclable and recycled materials and will be energy self-sufficient. It will be a 55-foot catamaran made of aluminium, an extremely durable hull material.
Although this is recyclable, it is also very energy-intensive to produce.
That is true, but I have discovered a Norwegian company that produces aluminium using renewable energy and recycled material. Only five per cent of the original production energy is needed to produce the recycled aluminium.
Why did you decide against natural fibres as a hull material?
Natural fibres do not have to be produced in such an energy-intensive way, but the problem comes with disposal. It is the combination of fibres, resins and fillers. Even if the resin is 30 per cent bio-resin, the only disposal option in the end is to burn the material or downcycle it. It is not yet possible to pick it apart again and recycle it completely.
Actually, I want nothing more than to live on the sea and make films. That's my thing"
Would there have been an alternative for the fuselage?
I thought about doing what Innovation Yachts from France does with Vulcan fibre, but decided against it. Aluminium is tried and tested and has also proven itself in harsh environments. And at the end of its life, it can be completely recycled. That's why I finally opted for aluminium - I don't want to experiment too much with the hull.
But this whole boatbuilding project started with an experiment!
That's right. I'm not just a sailor, I'm also a surfer. In 2014, I started building surfboards from natural fibres and founded a company for this. I wanted to find out and show what is feasible. I gained a lot of insights and realised that it was time to make a change in the industry. At that time, however, the topic of sustainability was still in its infancy. It was pioneering work, nobody could give me answers back then.
Do you have an example?
The data sheets were still very vague. They said: "You have to check whether you need to use 30 or 50 grams of resin per 100 grams of fibre." I was doing a mould making apprenticeship on the side. This gave me the idea to do some in-depth research into what was possible in terms of sustainable boat building. When I stood on my natural fibre wooden surfboard for the first time and realised that it worked, I started to think about how you could live on a seriously sustainable boat.
Is that still the plan?
Yes, I don't have a house or a flat, but a big van - and soon the boat.
You've also lived on a houseboat. What happened to it?
I sold it after living on it for four years in Cologne while I was filming the series "Alarm for Cobra 11". I actually wanted to live on a sailing boat even back then. I wanted to sail down the Rhine, mast up and then sail around the world. That was the big dream. But I didn't find the right boat. So I bought a steel cutter from Holland. It was 53 feet long and weighed 55 tonnes! A very cool boat, really old school. Inside, I had built everything out of wood. I wanted to test whether life on the water was for me at all. I quickly realised that it was totally my thing and that I didn't really want to do anything other than make films and live on the sea.
When the ship is finished, where will it go?
The idea behind the boat is that you should be able to sail to the far north and the deep south. You should be able to sail fast, but also comfortably. And I want to offer manufacturers of sustainable components and pioneering technology a platform. I am by no means the only one working on the topic of sustainability and sustainable boat building. A lot has changed in society in the last two years. Every company is suddenly trying to be sustainable. That's a good thing! I don't want to criticise that, I think it's great that you can suddenly think and talk about alternatives with all kinds of people. That's why I see an opportunity for my project right now. Everyone wants it - let's do it! If I had built the boat in 2014, I would probably only have faced headwinds. It was still too early for such a project.
Apart from the construction method, how are you going to manage to design a large modern yacht to be completely energy self-sufficient? Others have already failed at that.
It won't be easy. Nevertheless, the aim is to sail with electric motors only, to cook electrically and to completely dispense with a diesel generator. So, in addition to other regeneration options, as much solar power as possible must be installed on the boat. Maximising the solar surface on deck was also a requirement for the design. New solar technology can even be integrated into the outside of the hulls and sails. Of course, the premise of using resources sparingly also applies on board. I think: Where can I save water and energy? How can I make the boat lighter? What needs to be on the boat at all? In the past, for example, good ventilation was enough instead of air conditioning.
What about large appliances such as washing machines and freezers, which are standard on comparably sized new yachts?
A freezer is indeed planned, but a very energy-efficient model that can also be used as a fridge. A washing machine is planned, as I want to live on the boat. However, I have found an alternative that can be operated using muscle power. Many things will only come on board in the course of time - or not.
What else is planned below deck?
Everything there will be made of aluminium, natural fibres and wood. The centrepiece will be a vertical garden, so that you can also provide yourself with greenery on the high seas. After all, fresh produce always disappears on board by day four at the latest. I really miss that! In other projects, such as the Low-Tech Lab from France(see YACHT 10/2020 editor's note),they grow plants and mushrooms in their mobile greenhouse - it works! So why not on my cat?
Where do you get your ideas and the necessary knowledge? Who advises you on technical questions?
I actually have all these crazy ideas myself. As I don't have a traditional boatbuilding background, I'm very free in my imagination. I do all the research and contact companies with exciting technologies myself. If I had commissioned this, the design alone would have been far too expensive. I'm trying to make a statement, so I dig deep and have a look: How alternative can you really build?
How did this research work?
Right across the board. I'm interested in the sustainability market from A to Z - whether it's insulation, materials, technologies or water-saving options. Then I look at what has already been realised in other projects. For example, if a circular shower is being built there, I ask: How do you build it yourself? Or is someone already making it that I could possibly work with? I go to trade fairs, for example the Metstrade. But also at house building fairs! I look at how alternative houses are built. There are some of the same problems and challenges as with a boat. Many topics are similar, for example when it comes to energy concepts, heat pumps or insulation. I also look at the automotive sector, where a lot of technology and expertise is being developed to move away from fossil fuels.
Have other yachts also inspired you?
I have the Energy Observer viewed(Catamaran on which new propulsion and energy generation technologies are being tested, see YACHT 13/2019 editor's note).The approach is great! It's a big ship and a complex system. But if you could break something like this down for a smaller ship - why wouldn't that work? It's not like I'm trying to reinvent the wheel. I'm just taking a lot of puzzle pieces that already exist and putting them together. I want to make low-tech and alternative thinking really sexy. I want it to be a performance cat that has an alternative heart.
Other interesting examples of sustainable boatbuilding:
That all sounds like years of research!
It was. I've been dreaming about it since 2014 my surfboard company founded the company. It became really concrete a good three years ago. I can't tell you how many hours, days and weeks I've invested since then.
How do the professionals react to your ideas and suggestions?
Different! My design office at iYacht is like a filter for my imagination and drive. In some ways I'm held back, in others I'm told: that's possible, we can even go one better!
So far, these are all mature plans, but only plans. What about the search for a shipyard that would build the boat?
I'm right in the middle of it! I've looked at shipyards in America, South Africa, Italy, Poland, Holland and France. I'm looking for one that will see the project through from A to Z. I don't want to have the hull built and then take it somewhere else. But you first have to find a shipyard that is prepared to realise all these crazy ideas and take responsibility for them.
So everything is still open?
I am currently in talks with a shipyard in Concarneau that has already realised similar projects. They are working with young people who are doing research at a university on how to create a garden on board, for example. She is dealing with exactly my questions: How much water do I need? How much electricity do I need? Where can I make savings? How can I build alternatives? The infrastructure I need is there. Another reason why I would go to the French is that they say: "Can't be done, can't be done!" They make everything possible and are willing to go completely alternative ways.
Wouldn't it have been the most sustainable and perhaps simplest thing to buy a second-hand boat and convert it?
Absolutely, I also searched like crazy! Initially, even wooden ships were on the list. I found two interesting aluminium hulls and had a look at them. I would have had to tear one apart completely down to the hull. Then I would have had to put at least as much money back into it. That's when I came to the conclusion that I wanted to have my own boat built, in which I could incorporate all my visions and my knowledge of materials science.
Why should it be a catamaran and not a monohull?
One premise was that I could sail the thing single-handed, but that there was also room for eight to ten people on board. A monohull would have been around 60 to 65 feet, but you can't sail that alone, even if it would be more fun to sail. A catamaran is much more comfortable for living and working on board.
How did you actually get into sailing?
I got hooked in my early twenties when I moved to California to study acting and saw the boats moored in front of my favourite surf spot. That's when I got my first sailing licence, and later transferred boats and sailed in regattas. I love the idea that you can go anywhere in the world on a boat, with your own boat. I'm currently doing my Yachtmaster Ocean to master astronavigation as well. After all, I want to be a solid skipper for my solid boat.
But you don't want to go cruising alone with it, do you?
Exactly, I want to do educational work. I'm very interested in water quality monitoring, in other words analysing the oceans. I have a large circle of friends consisting of divers, freedivers, scientists and underwater filmmakers. Together with them, I would like to realise various projects on topics such as environmental protection and animal research. I also hope to collaborate with various universities. Films will also be linked to the projects. We probably won't be making a cinema film on the boat, but who knows!
I take puzzle pieces and put them together. The aim is to create a performance cat with an alternative heart.""
What role does money play in this boatbuilding project?
Financially, I can't and don't want to do it completely on my own. That's why I'm still looking for strong partners who have the same vision. The aim is not to build as expensively as possible, but to work innovatively and, above all, with recycled, affordable, alternative and sustainable materials in the interior design.
And the schedule?
If I can find a boatyard now in the spring, then we'll start building in the summer, more likely in the autumn. My goal was actually to have the boat afloat by the time I'm 40. I turned 39 in January, so I would have to really step on the gas now. But within the next two years would be great.
Do you ever ask yourself: What am I actually doing?
Definitely! Every day! And I'm sure a lot of things will go wrong and not as planned! It's just a lot of work, and I often ask myself why I don't just buy a boat and sail away.
What is the answer then?
Someone once told me that there are sailors who just want to sail and those who still need something in addition to sailing. I'm one of them. I can be on the ocean for weeks on end, but there has to be some reason why I do it. Just sailing off into the sunset is too boring for me. It's important to me that I'm not just building the boat for my own personal pleasure, but that I'm making a statement, carrying great topics and starting discussions about an alternative future. That's what excites me the most.
From plan to boat : Hu'Chu 55
The design plans envisage a 55-foot explorer cat made of aluminium with centreboards. The aim is to build a blue-water yacht that is as sustainable as possible. It is to be electrically powered and equipped with energy generators such as solar, wind and hydrogen generators.
Technical data
- Designer: iYacht GmbH
- CE design category: A
- Total length: 17.06 m
- Width: 8.65 m
- Draught: 1.32-2.72 m
- Mast height above WL: 24.40 m
- Weight empty/loaded: 16.5/23 tonnes
- Mainsail: 82.6 m²
- Jib: 36.5 m²
- Furling genoa: 73.6 m²
- Code Zero: 104.5 m²
- Gennaker: 200 m²
