Over the past 10 years the company has built and demonstrated a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional composite materials, and their FLAX27 Daysailor concept boat has been tested in the harshest of marine environments to prove that their creation has the potential to completely change the global footprint of sailing.

Described as a ‘masterpiece of craftsmanship’, the FLAX27 Daysailor combines a timeless design with the most modern and sustainable boat building technologies. It is made from 80% natural and/or recycled materials and weighs 10% less than a comparable GRP construction at just 1,200kg.

Greenboats was awarded the World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award at the 2022 World Sailing Awards in recognition of this achievement and to raise awareness of the efforts within the sport to become more sustainable.

Friedrich J. Deimann, Founder, Greenboats, said, “When I was 10 years old, I started sailing and I was so impressed with boats, I decided very quickly to become a boatbuilder but what I didn’t like at all was the material itself because the glass and carbon fibre was very itchy.

“I did a lot of research to find ways to combine the best of the two worlds: wooden boatbuilding and composite world. I found this material, flax fibre and bio-based resin systems which you can process in the same way from the composite industry. In 2013, I founded Greenboats.”

By using natural and recycled materials, the team at Greenboats has reduced the CO2 emissions of composites by up to 80% over the product life cycle, with the same or better mechanical properties. The next step is to simplify adoption and increase usage.

Friedrich added, “We developed technologies that enabled us to build boats from natural fibres without losing performance and with the possibility to lower the footprint of the product. Starting with the FLAX27, where we showcased that it is possible to replace glass fibre reinforced composites using 100% natural fibre. The FLAX27 is 10% lighter and has a beautiful aesthetic.”