Unexpected Ways Technology is Making Boating Better
New ways of building boats and protecting the environment we use them in
Published: Thursday, November 10, 2022 12:00 pm
By: Zuzana Prochazka
A version of this article appeared in the Buyer's Guide 2023 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
Technology is changing the way we use a boat. Electric propulsion, assisted docking, larger power storage solutions negating the need for generators, and other examples are trickling down from big yachts to the smallest of boats, and it has been a sea of change – no pun intended. But did you know how much technology has also impacted the way boats are built and also the way that the environment we boat in is protected?
Building Processes
Building boats today is an incredibly technical affair, and much of it leans on 3D technology – as in 3D printing and scanning.
Take, for example, Massivit, a 3D printer that is used to create smaller composite parts for boats as well as the large molds for prototypes and jigs. From a radar mast to a swim platform, this build process is faster, less labor-intensive, and creates much less waste. For example, Massivit’s process of creating molds cuts the usual 19 steps down to four and allows boat builders to reduce their tooling time by 80%. Boat builders are just starting to embrace 3D printing, but soon, it’s likely to take over how boats are created.
Another 3D technology that’s changing the game is handheld scanners that can be used to create technical specs for pieces or for spaces. A Florida propeller repair and replacement company uses scanners to create model diagrams of props for all kinds of craft, from smaller boats up to superyachts. Replacing a prop on a 100-foot yacht is no small job. Traditionally, it has had to be removed and shipped to a shop where it’s measured by hand before the information is sent to a fabricator to make a new one. This can take 8-10 weeks. Using a 3D scanner, the same job can be done in two weeks, with more accuracy and by someone with little training. The scanner takes measurements and digitizes the results, making the diagram ready to send to a propeller fabricator almost immediately.
These scanners are also used to measure voids – as in spaces where equipment will be installed. For example, if a yacht needs a new exhaust system designed, a technician can take measurements in the engine room in 30 minutes and creates a complete drawing of the available space. Then it’s a matter of fitting in the new exhaust equipment with fewer errors in the design.
Scanning is also used to design yacht windows, custom boat flooring, interior layouts, and faster hull bottoms. Old shipwrights wouldn’t even recognize some of the ways boats and marine parts are built today.
Environmental Protection
Technology impacts not only the way boats are built and used but also the environment in which they’re operated. Two areas where technology has made major inroads are ocean cleanup and shoreline preservation.
The Ocean Cleanup (yes, that’s the actual name) is a system designed and launched by a young Dutch entrepreneur, Boyan Slat, and it’s taking on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (and yes, again, sadly, this has a real name too.) The Patch is comprised of over a trillion pieces of plastic and debris floating between Hawaii and California in tracts twice the size of Texas. Marine life, including seabirds, fish, and marine mammals, suffers from plastic ingestion and entrapment.
The Ocean Cleanup built a 2,000-foot capture system which consists of a U-shaped boom towed by two vessels and a large net in the middle that that floats along, swallowing whatever is funneled in. So far, it has collected nearly a quarter million pounds of trash, which translates to the weight of two and a half Boeing 737s. The Patch is estimated at being 2.6 million pounds, so what’s been done to date is but a dent. Still, if they manage to replicate this haul 1,000 times, the Patch could disappear, leaving safer ocean routes and a much healthier environment for sea life.
From garbage to shoreline erosion: Rising sea levels and shoreline erosion bring flooding, property losses, rising insurance rates, and a migration away from coastal communities. One solution has been to build conventional seawalls, but those require mitigation, have a long permitting cycle, and are damaging to the environment they’re designed to protect. Now, there’s something better. An organization called Living Seawall is creating structures that mimic native eco-scapes to combat the effects of climate change on coastal communities.
These 3D-printed structures imitate natural defenses, are self-mitigating, can create multiple kinds of habitats, and automatically collect water quality data for monitoring and forecasting. The structures create an artificial reef with non-toxic materials where organisms can attach and continue to clean the water naturally. The structures can be 3D printed onsite with zero waste and minimal transport costs. They’re produced in 10’x10’ panels that cost $2500 each, and there’s no limit to how many can be combined to create a massive natural wall that works with and for the environment.
Hi-Tech Boating
The next time you’re out on a new boat enjoying all the comfort and safety features that are built in, consider how much technology also went into building it and how much more is around you, perhaps in some hidden places like seawalls. It’s all really quite exciting and makes great conversation starters.
tags: Boat Technology, Environmental Impact
