Milestone reached in boatbuilding with bio-based materials

The team led by Jan Brügge, partner in the BioBasedBoats research project, has reached the next milestone just in time for the 6th anniversary of its foundation. Together with researchers from the Department of Chemistry and Physics of Wood at Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), research is being conducted into bio-based materials and their combinations as well as more efficient production methods.

The emergence of fibre-reinforced polymer-based composites in the late 1940s also led to the use of these materials in boatbuilding. The rationalised production of plastics made it possible to reduce the costs of boatbuilding and thus also give customers with less financial resources the opportunity to purchase boats.

In comparison, traditional wooden boatbuilding is very time-consuming and cost-intensive. Master boat builder Jan Brügge also observed in his craft business that customers increasingly want boats that are made of wood and other environmentally friendly materials, have good hydrodynamic properties and are cheaper than boats built using traditional timber construction methods. This led to his desire to further develop the techniques of wooden boat building and thus make it competitive with plastic boat building again. This is where the "BioBasedBoats" project comes in, which the HNEE is carrying out in cooperation with Jan Brügge Bootsbau GmbH.

A few weeks ago, an important milestone was reached with the turning of the hull of the boat, which was previously built upside down on the malls at the Königstein shipyard on the Schlei. This is because the boat hull serves as a sample for testing the functionality of a newly developed process that combines vacuum infusion with local wood species. In addition to minimising contact with harmful resin, the process also enables faster production. The prototype is due to be launched as early as this summer.

The "topping-out ceremony" also heralded the start of series production of the "Woy 26" day racer, which is based on the research results of the BioBasedBoats project. The model is presented on the website .

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