![The all-electric Voltaire 33 Sky utilizes flax fiber in a bioepoxy resin that can be fully recycled when the power cat is no longer in use.](https://iims-media-library.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/12131220/voltaire.jpg)
At last year’s METSTRADE show, the I-nnovationLab hosted speakers proudly presenting projects which had deliberately moved away from glass fiber and/or polyester resin composites; the kind that have dominated the boat construction market for decades, and still don’t have an environmentally acceptable waste stream solution in order to deal with the ever-increasing volumes coming from end-of-use boats.
For instance, Amer Yachts announced their intentions to build from a basalt (volcanic fiber) based composite, while Greenboats presented their 27ft day sailer constructed from a flax/bio resin derived matrix. James Starkey from Norco Composites speaking on one of the Continue reading “Are sustainable flax and basalt fibers the future of marine composites and set to replace glassfibre in boat production?”