Eco-Friendly Materials??

[bigalogigalo]

Hi, are there any eco-friendly materials out there to construct hulls from?

[Landlubber]

Wood is good. It is 100% natural, laying about everywhere, just waiting to be picked up.

It would certainly be possible to build a boat out of wood that is simply lying there rotting, no need to chop it down, just go scavenging about, particularly in central Asia, you could possibly build a boat out of teak that is going to waste.

Just be rescourceful, and it will come.

[bigalogigalo]

it's not completely eco-friendly tho is it?

i can't see many manufacturers hunting round for recycled wood unless they absolutely had to....

it still has to be chopped down, which is a big enough problem as it is.....

[Landlubber]

You did not say that you were a manufacturer......

[bigalogigalo]

im not, im just thinking realistically in terms of mass manufacture....

ie are there any materials which are sustainable and viable for mass scale? or any which could be used?

i havent heard of any!! which is surprising considering the big push for a greener world at the min.

have you heard of any?

[the1much]

to do it from wood is easy,,and eco-friendly, and very renewable....all ya need ia enough land,,,cut an area,,replant, move to next area,,replant,,move again,,,then in10 to 20 years start at the original area. Paper mill companies do it every day,,,,,they just have problems making sure what they replanted doesnt get choked out by weeds

[kach22i]

I'm told that careful vacuum bagging processes do not let any vapors into the air and that excess resin may be recycled into a storage vat.

[the1much]

Originally Posted by kach22i

I'm told that careful vacuum bagging processes do not let any vapors into the air and that excess resin may be recycled into a storage vat.

but,,,,the resin itself ( how its made, and from what its made from) isnt eco-friendly.
and P.S. Kach,,,,,,,them hovercrafts as fun as they look?,,,,,can i pilot yours?,,,actually i couldnt pilot one,,,,,but i can drive one

[Kaptin-Jer]

Any material can be eco-friendly if handled with respect to the environment, but we don't, my self included. We have been down this road before (http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21016) with members getting into some pretty violent verbal attacks in regards to marine professionals against tree huggers / EPA. It was fun let's do it again.
Actually it is important to keep talking about even if we don't agree.

[Petros]

wood is great: it is non-toxic, tress grow continuously replacing the supply, and is mass produced by unskilled labor.

For a manufacturing environment grown lumber is not practical since it has to be hand selected, and the unusable cuts are scrapped. Very wasteful. If wood is production laminated however, than you get more consistent qualities and it would lend itself to a production line environment. It does not have to be hand selected.

Another advantage with laminates is you do not need large timbers, you can use relatively young second growth tress. Some products can even use wood chips and glue. For boat building with production laminates you would need to be able to place large enough orders so you can specify glue type, dimensions, surface finish and treatment, etc. It might even be possible for example to production laminate curved hull ribs and deck frames, have them pressure treated for rot resistance, and use an assembly jig to build the hulls with little custom fitting.

All other hull materials, metal, reinforced plastics (fiberglass, etc), concrete, etc. all are made from non-renewable raw materials. This is not true with wood structures.

And wood I think is one of the most attractive looking materials, even as a laminate.

[the1much]

kapt.,,,hehehe,,i wasnt gonna start,,,was just stating that,,,hahahaha,,,(im not gonna start,,,,,im not gonna start,,),, i didnt think resins constituted "green" because,,,,,,(,,not touching you,,,not touching you,,)heh,,of it not being non renewable,,ya,,that,,,(pssssst TY petros fer the scape) hehehe
now,,see kapt.,,,learn from me and stop startin crap,,, heheehe
ummm,,,by saying stop startin,,,,is that like one of those double wammy's errrrrr, double negative things,,,and now kapt gonna mess with my head??,,,someone please help,,,,i think that kapt. dude is a stalker

[fleetwing]

re there any materials which are sustainable and viable for mass scale?

Really, lets look at hemp..... grows fast renewable in 2 years , excess you can make fiber woven with hemp just as strong as e-glass, will absorb epoxy. use the same paper making process as the fed treasury, add cotton and hemp fibers, with recycled materials.... press in to thick sheets(like a veneer)cold-molding). ... Make laminates with epoxy... jig it, and your done.
put that in yer pipe and smoke it. to recycle.

[the1much]

all that great green GONE by adding "epoxy",,,,is like a 500lbs dude ordering 4 big macks,,6 large fries,,,,and cause he's on a diet,,,,,a diet coke,,,make that 3
hehe
and a hemp boat is just dangerous ,,,,trust me i've stared at my hemp t-shirt in "dry" times

[masalai]

Bigagigalo, you are asking a very difficult question and the only honest answer - nothing related to boat building.... Air if you can hold it in solid state without the use of energy.... You do not need to ask anyone just thjimk....

[mongo75]

make a form from mold on the north side of trees, and then pour water all over it and take it up to Alaska and freeze it. There's your eco friendly renewable boat.

I myself like to melt tires with plastic bottles over an open flame and cool it by pouring the mix in the ocean so it forms sheets that I can cut to size with a welding torch. I usually do this as close to a nature preserve as I can so I can do my work with no one bothering me or asking questions. I then glue the sections together by stitching them and pouring acetone in the corners to weld it together. Some of it usually drips onto the beach or birds eggs but most of it just goes in the ocean, outta sight, outta mind ya know?

OK, I'm just kidding (don't call peta or greenpeace on me LOL) I'm sorry but other than using fallen wood and carving it like the Indians used to, I don't have any good suggestions myself for eco friendly boat building