Boatbuilding News 14.06.24 Feat. Feadship, Sunreef Yachts, E1 Series & Flexiteek International

📰 This weeks Boatbuilding News 📰

🎾 Sunreef Yachts Eco is joining global tennis star Rafael Nadal’s E1 Series team as an official partner.

Sunreef Yachts Eco has teamed up with Rafael Nadal’s crew for the E1 Series – the world’s first and only high-speed electric boat race.

The breakthrough E1 Series will feature electric-powered racebird boats with the inaugural UIM E1 World Championship scheduled to take place in 2024.

Team owner Rafael Nadal has a strong relationship with the Sunreef Yachts brand. One of the greatest tennis players in history, he is an experienced boater and Sunreef catamaran owner.

With a lineup of team owners including celebrities from the world of sports including NDL star Tom Brady, E1 puts strong emphasis on entertainment and sustainability.

Team Rafa E1 Series pilots are Cris Lazarraga – European jet ski racing champion in 2019 and vice world champion in 2021, as well as Tom Chiappe – an experienced powerboat racer, world endurance champion, Karting SWS World Champion 2023 and winner of the 24 hours of Rouen in 2016.

The E1 Series aims to forge partnerships, drive awareness, and take tangible action. The organisers collaborate on coastal habitat restoration initiatives and create content to teach children the importance of ocean health. To accelerate the development of electric technologies, E1 will also offer to install charging points at each venue to incentivise recreational boat users.

🇸🇪 Flexiteek International, a leading manufacturer of engineered synthetic decking and marine products, has moved to a new state-of-the-art facility in Fagersta, Sweden, after more than 23 years in its original production facility.

The new location represents a ‘significant investment’ by Flexiteek and owner Watrium and supports a growing global production capacity to support the groups’ other manufacturing hubs in the UK and Poland.

The new building has been designed to help increase production capacity with a large-scale warehouse and new team offices.

The new building is 1,400m² with 150m² of office and conference room facilities and was officially opened on 5 June.

“We are very excited to be moving to our new home in Fagersta. The new building is incredibly energy efficient and will help us to meet our sustainability obligations. It will also help to improve our productivity allowing us to meet the increased demand for our products around the world.”

says Tomas Gustafsson, CEO at Flexiteek

Flexiteek says the relocation in Fagersta supports local jobs and opportunities in the community, with a significant level of investment in the area.

To support its environmental strategy (the business has IS0: 14001 accreditation for the UK manufacturing location and a global Ecovadis bronze rating) the new location in Sweden has been developed with advanced energy technology including a ground source heat pump system with six ground boreholes that produce heat. Energy is created from a rooftop solar panel array, helping to make the building more energy efficient. There is also an energy-efficient product warming room to help improve the preparation process for the production of a new deck.

Flexiteek launched in 2000 with a revolutionary synthetic decking product. Now available in its second generation, Flexiteek is available in 30+ colour combinations.

🇳🇱 Feadship has launched the 59.5-metre Project 713, the Dutch shipyard’s first vessel to carry solar cells for auxiliary power generation.

Feadship says that the launch of Project 713 represents a step towards its goal of being climate-neutral by 2030.

The superyacht follows recent Feadship launches, including the 84.2m hybrid superyacht Obsidian and Project 821, a landmark hydrogen yacht originally linked to Bill Gates, to embrace new-gen solutions that can reduce a vessel’s environmental impact.

Like all Feadship yachts, Project 713 has diesel-electric propulsion and can run on non-fossil HVO. The hull form is optimised for cruising speed instead of top speed, and the solar panels, thanks to efficient silicon cells, are designed for maximum performance.

These solar panels are custom-made in the Netherlands and produce up to 24 MWh annually, significantly contributing to the yacht’s energy efficiency.

Project 713, launched at Feadship’s Van Lent facilities, is fitted with a high-efficiency diesel-electric power system. Four generators and a 400-kWh battery supply energy for propulsion and the hotel load.

The yacht is also the first new-build Feadship to feature FSC-certified plantation teak for all the decking.

In addition, Project 713 has undergone a Yacht Environmental Transparency Index (YETI) assessment report, which concludes that Project 713 belongs to the best in the fleet at 35 per cent below average impact.

Feadship says the various efficiency-enhancing features “more than compensate” for the losses incurred by the onboard electrical conversions, and confirms the owner has been instrumental in the design and environmental impact reduction.

Project 713 has an exterior profile designed by Studio De Voogt, a distinctive blue-grey hull, and a white superstructure. Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design created the contemporary interiors.

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