Product Trends

An 100% Recyclable Sailboat

An 100% Recyclable Sailboat

GS4C, with the support of a Lombardy regional fund for startup projects, is now beginning manufacturing of the first ever 100% recyclable racing sailboat. The boat is a Mini 650, designed by Skyronlabdesign for participation in the Mini Transat 6.50, a single-handed race across the Atlantic.

The advantage of creating a recyclable boat for this type of competition is that it will prove that environmental innovation and performance can go hand in hand and that greener does not mean less efficient. GS4C’s goal is to have the boat participate in the 2019 race.

Transatlantic racing sailboats need to be made of material that’s going to resist intense UV expose as well as salt water. They also need to be light with a structure that will withstand the winds out on the open water. So what recyclable material can be used to create a racing boat that’s robust, light and safe? GS4C carried out weaving and lamination tests for a number of materials and chose suppliers with similar sustainability values.

The materials they settled on were a sustainable fiber, Filava, from the Belgian Company Isomatex, and a bio-based epoxy called Super Sap from Entropy. The recyclable nature of Filava was verified in a laboratory and it was certified that after the recycling process the material could reintegrate the production cycle. Super Sap, on the other hand, has very low embodied energy, especially next to similar products.

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