The special boat: Sustainable boat building: natural fibre instead of glass

As soon as you step on board, you can't resist the urge to run your hand over the golden-brown material from which the Flax 27 is made. The fibres under the transparent gelcoat look soft and somewhat like a carpet. In fact, this is not just a visual effect - the laminate of the daysailer is not made of glass mats, but of spun and woven flax fibres with a foam core made of recycled PET. Everything is bonded together by a comparatively environmentally friendly epoxy; some of the resin is plant-based and not derived from crude oil. On top of this is a cork rod deck. This natural material is also recycled and is made from the offcuts from wine cork production.

Friedrich Deimann and his Greenboats shipyard have done everything they can to build a boat that uses fewer environmentally harmful materials and also has the most favourable carbon footprint possible. The construction method is not entirely new; the shipyard has already gained experience with the materials used in the GreenBente. The Flax 27 is now the first independent construction.

Read in YACHT 22/2019 what is already possible in terms of sustainable boat building and what other advantages linen has in production - now available at newsagents, order here or as a digital edition.