Tag: trimaran

Building sustainable boats with biocomposites

Building sustainable boats with biocomposites

Humankind had been building sustainable boats for millennia using biodegradable material. Most commonly the materials used was wood or bark. Picture for example the canoes of the American natives.

In the last 150 years progress in the industrial manufacturing made it possible to build metal hulls. Big ships needed a solid structure due to their size but also pleasure yachts started to use the same technology. Steel and aluminum became broadly utilized.

Finally reinforced plastic (fiberglass) appeared as a convenient technology to build boats that were cheaper and lighter yet strong. Fiberglass became the main material used in production of mall and medium boats and yachts. Yacht design in recent years started to look into new syntethic fibers, like carbon fiber and Kevlar, to build lighter and stiffer boat, especially suitable for racing.

Natural fibers in boatbuilding

sustainable boats

There is a new and revolutionary attempt to use fibers from agriculture such as Flax and Jute to build boats.

Flax in particular seems to be an interesting alternative to synthetic fibers as a reinforcement material in composites instead of fiberglass or carbon fiber. This fiber was used by the Romans to make the sails of their ships two millennia ago, and its relative stiffness and durability make it an interesting ingredient for sustainable boat building.

Beside the ecological advantage in carbon emissions over synthetic fibers, natural fibers have a low specific weight and very good insulating properties. They also tend to absorb water and that’s a concern when it comes to boat building.

Manufacturers are trying different technologies to create a fiber that will not absorb water, including innovative waiving and coating. So far, the use of resin such as polyester or epoxy and the adoption of synthetic fibers with different ratios have proved to be good solutions in sealing the fibers and preventing water to penetrate into the fibers.

At the beginning of this pioneering method sport canoes were the favorite prototypes because of their low cost production, but after the first encouraging results somebody moved the bar a little bit higher. The great challenge lied in achieving the high mechanical resistance required for ocean sailing. It appears that this is not only possible, it is a reality.

The revolution of biocomposites sailboats speaks French, and I wish I did too because a lot of videos and references available online are in French. However I will try my best to introduce some pivotal characters in this story, and present sustainable boats that were not just manifactured using biocomposites, but that also achieved important results.

Tara Tari Shipyard and Watever

Watever is a NGO that aims to assist the population in Bangladesh with floating solutions. One of the first project was to build floating-ambulances and that’s where the collaboration between Yves Marre and Marc Van Peteghem started.

Marre sailed to Bangladesh on a river barge in 1994 and then decided to live there and help the local population founding a floating hospital. Van Peteghem is an acclaimed naval architect who designed some of the fastest boats that ever sailed, including the class MOD70 trimarans and BMW Oracle trimaran.

The two frenchmen started to collaborate in a local shipyard, Tara Tari Shipyard, managed by Marre, where they build “optimized, safe and sustainable boats, combining traditional knowledge and modern technologies“.

Offering safe and affordable boat to the coastal communities of Bangladesh means also bringing modern boatbuilding into local building methods, which relies mainly on fiberglass with polyestere. In 2009 a young engineer started to work at Tara Tari Shipyard, and he came up with the idea of replacing fiberglass with jute fiber, which is grown locally.

Gold of Bengal

Corentin is an innovative engineer, and you can bet he is from France. Life in Bangladesh opened his eyes on a resource that is very important for the local economy, and that is in danger: jute. He started to develop an idea and then a mission: to build sustainable sailboats, without relying completely on fiberglass, and adding natural fibers to the matrix, in particular the jute fiber.

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Tara Tari from the sketch-board of Van Peteghem

The collaboration with Watever brought to the building of Tara Tari  in 2010 (design by Marc Van Peteghem), a traditional sailing boat built using a mix of fiberglass and jute. and following the traditional lines of the sanpams, fishing boats of the Bangladesh delta.

The combination of a traditional desing, the use of jute fibers for the construction and the addition of parts salvaged from the local ship breaking industry (plus Plastimo and Harken as sponsors) give her the look of a steampunk apocalyptic sustainable boat.

With a LOA of 29.5 ft (9 meters) Tara Tari, which means “quick”, is built with 25% of jute in the hull, 45% in the bulkheads and 65% in the deck. Once the boat was ready, Corentin started a long voyage of 9,000 miles, mostly singlehanded, from Bangladesh to La Ciotat, France, where he was warmly greeted by friends and media.

After his exploit, Corentin became quite famous in his home country, winning the 2011 Prix Bernard Moitessier and writing a book  about his adventure. This sudden attention from the media gave him the opportunity to raise money and to go back to Bangladesh to start a new ambitious project.

sustainable boats

But Tara Tari was not left alone for long, because in the meanwhile she found a new skipper, the 28 years old french Capucine Trochet, who took the boat across the Atlantic, from France to the Caribbean. During the trip she had to fight with winter, a leak (then fixed in Gibraltar), and winds up to 45kts, that knocked the boat down a couple of times.

This chapter of Capucine’s life is a little part of her beautiful sea story. I like this picture of her and Tara Tari in the Atlantic, it’s because of this picture that my interest for sustainable boats built with natural fibers began.

sustainable boats

Back in Bangladesh Corentin founded his own NGO, Gold of Bengal, a name that symbolize the jute, which has a golden brown color and it’s also an economical resource for Bangladesh. In 2013 he built “Gold of Bengal” this time made 100% with jute.

He set sails for seven months, first solo, then with a group of friends, from Bangladesh to Malaysia, through the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with an onboard tropical greenhouse, two chickens and manual water maker. With the aim of being self sufficient Corentin did not bring any money with him.

In 2014, as a mature attempt to build a bigger and more complex hull, Gold of Bengal gathers with Watever and Roland Jourdain for a new prototype: a 50 foot catamaran built entirely from agro-composites (jute and flax fibers).

This boat will be the support for the next program of Gold of Bengal association: the “Nomade des mers” expedition, a floating laboratory that will sail the Indian and Pacific Ocean to experiment low-tech solutions: homemade wind turbine, comestible insect farming, hydroponics greenhouse and a solar desalinization system.

The aim of the project is to create an autonomous boat that will support the crew indefinetely without needs for restocking.

A fast trimaran sailing the South Pacific

Roland Jourdain is a star in the gotha of sailing, and he is French of course. Beside being a celebrated solo sailor he is also  involved in making the world a better place to live. And he likes to play with biocomposites too.

Gwalaz is a 23.5ft trimaran built with flax fibers and cellulose, cork and balsa wood. The project was meant to build “a cleaner, sustainably developed boat, but also to remove reliance on fossil fuels and think about recycling right from the product’s design”. They idea came from Kairos group, an association lead by Roland Jourdain, with the financial support of the Brittany Region. This boat sailed in Bretagne, France for a trial before being transported into a container in the Pacific Ocean for the film project “Lost in the Swell“.

 Araldite, a mini 6.50 prototype

Not only humanitarian dreamers and ecologists are building boat with composites. Even an industrial giant as Huntsman Advanced Materials sponsored a boat building project involving flax fibers. The mini 6.50 class is once again the perfect environment for testing new ideas and tecnhologies.

Araldite, was built in France (oh, really?) using 50% of special coated flax fiber ( supplied by Lineo, a Belgium company) and 50% carbon fiber. The combination made for a very light boat. Araldite took the 15th place in the 2011 Mini Transat, a solo transatlantic race that starts in France and ends in Brazil, a tough test for any desing.

The future is now

Biocomposites are quickly becoming a viable option for composite boatbuilding. Every country is experimenting with the ready available and cheaper crops, flax for Europe, kenaf for the USA and jute for Bangladesh. France is once again the leader of innovation in the sailing world, with shipyards and professional boatbuilders already producing boats capable to stand the fatigue of an ocean crossing.

The revolution has already started in different industrial and craft products such as speakers, tennis rackets and bicycles but boat building represent the most challenging frontier, as the result would have reach high standards of mechanical stiffness and resistance.

Now we are in the beta version era but the results are encouraging and it seems that soon natural fibers could replace syntethic ones, or at least work together in the composite building. It’s fascinating because it’s not only an exercise in eco-friendly style, but a sustainable alternative in the direction of building sustainable boats.

A tough adventure: Race to Alaska

A tough adventure: Race to Alaska

Just recently I bumped into a boating event that really aroused my imagination and fantasy. It’s a long (750 nm) proving course for self-reliant, un-assisted boats. There are very few rules and the most important one is no engine onboard. You can sail, row, or paddle your boat in 50 degrees waters in one of the most difficult and beautidul scenario on earth.

The R2AK ( Race to Alaska ) is possibly one of the toughest races ever. The organizer is Northwest Maritime Center, “a 501c-3 non-profit committed to engaging people in the waters of our world in a spirit of adventure and discovery“. The spirit of adventure must be high in order to participate to this event. The possible dangers range from low water and air temperature, wildlife  encounters (bears and killer whales), squalls, strong tidal streams and marine traffic.

The modest prize for the winner (10k USD) will keep the stardom of professionals boaters with expensive gear/requirements out of the competition. The sum it’s still some interesting money so will attract a lot of DIY boaters and dreamers with small modern and traditional crafts. This could be dangerous as the money prize may push unexperienced and unfit people to try something out of their skills. To avoid that, the organizers divided the race in two parts: the first qualifier leg from Port Townsed, WA to Victoria, BC will offer a callenging 40 nautical miles open water crossing in the reach of rescue squads; entrants who qualify for this stretch are admitted to the full race which is 710nm from Victoria BC to Ketchikan, AK and where you will be on your own.

For this second leg there is not a predetermined course. The only two obligatory waypoint are Seymour Narrows (a treacherous channel famous for strong turbulent tidal currents) and Bella Bella. The participants choose their route, which can be in the open ocean or following the Inside Passage, so the strategy and the type of boat will be the key factors.

During the summer the prevailing winds blow from the NW, on the nose, but generally light and variable when storms and rain come from the SW. Offshore the southern branch of the North Pacific Current (California Current) is unfavorable until boats reach half of the course and encounter the favorable north branch, Alaska Current, but in order to take advantage of oceanic currents boats would have to sail far from land.  On the Inside Passage route entrants have to face strong tidal currents, rivers and any kind of coastal hazard, and possibly have to cover a bigger distance.

Under this unpredictable and generally adverse conditions the organizers are expecting a minimum of 3 weeks for the first boat to reach Ketchikan in Alaska. Around that time a “Sweep boat”will leave Port Townsend and covering 75 miles per day, will disqualify each participant reached, offering a tow and assistance. If their estimation is correct it means that the winner will move at an average speed of 1,5kts. This estimation include possible layover time for rest/provisioning, which is not forbidden unless the help is prearrenged by a team. Entrants could land and find assistance, repair the boat, camp and hunt/fish along the way (beware of Grizzlies!), or book a night in a hotel, provided it’s not pre-arranged.

Endurance is going to be the vital skill to win. The boat who can achieve steady progress in the variable conditions of the race has the best chances of victory. This mean the boat shouldn’t stop overnight keeping a crew member on watch all the time. Constant but little progress will pay in the long term and to do so boats need a crew of at least tw0, a shelter for cooking and resting, and enough storage capability to carry water and food for the entire race. You look for maximum light air performance if you sail, and the ability to propel the boat without an engine in adverse wind conditions (tide stronger than wind).

This is what makes the Race to Alaska so exciting. Beside the extreme weather conditions and the challenging course what really triggers my interest is the fact that so many different boats will compete. I am sure that will push people to invent some new boat designs and build interesting hybrids, using classic boats that where designed when engines were not an option. It’s not even 150 years since the first engine was installed on a boat, and humans have been sailed all over the planet for thousands of years without one.

So which boat will be the winner of the first Race to Alaska? No one knows, the course conditions are unpredictable and for sure we are going to see many different crafts on the starting line. Here I enjoyed playing and I imagined different boats types compete for the first place:

1. Sailing trimaran

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Trimarans have a very good overall sailing speed, they can be fast in light airs, but difficult to paddle/row and subjected to drifting in non favourable wind condition.

 2. Sailing Tri-canoe

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This concept is becoming pretty popular among camping/cruisers for the wide range of uses in different conditions. Shallow draft, light air performance and paddles. Beside some series production most are custom built assembling different crafts. The double handed designs are usually very light and with minimum space for provisions and gear, but it’s not impossible to customize or even build a more heavy duty version to fit this race.

 3. Yawl-canoe and dories

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There are a lot of classic canoe/skiff/dory designs that can be sailed and rowed, and can accomodate two people plus gear for a non-stop trip. Traditional working crafts are epitomes of seaworthiness. For sure we are going to see a lot of them at the starting line.

4. Kayak? (Freya Hoffmeister will think this race is a piece of cake for what she has done so far)

20.-Packing-the-long-awaited-custom-Epic

Slower but virtually unstoppable, with daily average of 30-50 miles per day can make it a possible winner if sailing crafts encounter adverse conditions. a bigger tandem kayak would allow for overnight sleeping altough not a comfortable one.

5. Viking longship?

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Big crew, shelter (and shields!), it can be sailed and rowed. Bear coats foulweather gear included

6.Row boat/canoe?

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As for kayakers these crafts may be slower but virtually unstoppable. Designs offer lightweight boats with shelters and a potential big crew. I wonder what might be the best balance between crew number/overall weight.

7. Traditional First Nations Canoes

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First Nations of British Columbia Coast have been invited by the oganizers. Hopefully they didn’t forget their traditions and should still have the knowledg of the race course and the necessary skills to survive and complete the race.

 8. Mod70 Oman Trimaran

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Probably the fastest racing boat on earth (ocean), even in rough conditions. In 24hrs of favourable winds she  can cover more than half the total distance. We won’t see this boat on the starting line, but a fast performance bluewater sailboat can really be competitive in this race taking the outside route and hoping for the best.

Liveaboard a self built trimaran

Liveaboard a self built trimaran

Michele and I share the same dream but follow two very different paths. I chose to refit an old slow monohull. He is building a light and fast trimaran from scratch. In both cases the vessels have the purpose to provide their owners with just enough comfort to sail the seas and live aboard.

In the warehouse

Michele and I were introduced by a common connection and started a conversation online. It’s a great sprint for your motivation when you find  someone with whom discuss your projects. Especially when your dream makes you feel like a weirdo among the people that surround you. That’s why the conversation became so intense and we shared a lot of our ideas and experiences about sailing and living aboard.

Sailing has always been in Michele’s DNA. He moved his first steps on Optimists, then he attended to sailing school. He continued to self-educate himself through a lot of miles sailed with his father on a formula 28 and 36 catamaran, and helping in building those boats.

Recently he thought of make sailing more than a hobby. He intends to  get the necessary licenses and start to work as skipper for charter boats, deliveries and teaching sailing.

Michele began the building of his trimaran three years ago, but it’s just recently that Michele is pushing harder as the project looks closer to an end. The 22ft boat named “Trimaranga” is taking shape in an empty warehouse in Bologna that his uncle decided to make available for the project. He says it’s about 70% completed but remains cautious about the final date. As we know very well, it’s hard to make plans with boats.

One thing is for sure: both Michele and I like to dream.

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