‘Unsustainable’ larger boats fuel boating arms race

David Lewin, consultant for GMBA, moved his boat to a marina on the south coast of England and couldn’t be happier with the relocation. But, he says, the move’s highlighted one stark issue with the boating industry. And that is size…

Lewin believes boat size is a “first world problem”, but one that needs addressing, and fast. “Certainly several of the world’s leading powerboat builders use this marina as a floating showroom,” says Lewin, “but the average size of the boats seem inexorably to get larger and larger.

“As well as larger boats, no-one seems satisfied without a multiple outboard motor installation on the back – and not small outboards either – burning petrol (gasoline) rather than diesel.” While Lewin is thankful that there are people with enough money to support the industry’s growth, and acknowledges that he’s involved in the construction of some of these boats, he says it’s become an “arms race”.

“I can’t help feeling that all this is unsustainable, certainly in its present form anyway. Haven’t the people who buy these craft and engines heard about the climate emergency?” he asks.

“Or do they feel it doesn’t impinge on or have anything to do with them? Is it still alright for them to specify twin German, American or Swedish high horsepower diesels or indeed two, three, four or even five 450hp outboards on their transom?” Lewin has been listening to the industry talk about how it needs to factor in environmental sustainability. Now he’s actively looking for the outcomes and the actions which need to be taken. But, Lewin admits he struggles to unpick the balance between customer wants and manufacturers’ social responsibilities. He suspects
that manufacturers secretly acknowledge their responsibility but are happy to carry on riding the wave of customer demand rather than leading the revolution.

Image courtesy of Sebastien Le Derout, Unsplash

“Who is responsible for moving our industry to a more forgiving, recyclable, carbon-neutral and sustainable future – the customer or the manufacturer?” he asks. “There are plenty of initiatives out there. We are beginning to see some meaningful electric or hybrid power plants, there are people developing fibres such as hemp and linen to reinforce bio-resins and there are low friction displacement hull shapes out there too.

“But the mainstream carries on as if nothing has changed. While the automotive industry will have to stop producing cars with internal combustion engines by 2030 and be able to recycle their product, apart from a very small number of builders, we continue to use glass reinforced polyester and ever larger (comparatively speaking) emissions producing engines.”

Although Lewin accepts that the technology is not completely there yet, he feels that the industry is following the curve rather than being on the front edge, as it’s still limiting its thinking to giving the customer what he/she wants.

“Apart from the adoption of GRP in the 1960s, boat building has rarely been at the forefront of service or technology,” says Lewin. “The change to a fully sustainable future must come so why not embrace it. I’m still waiting for the first leading boat brand to announce that it will only be producing net carbon zero craft from some year not too far in the future.

“There are plenty of people out there willing and ready to buy boats – let’s not sell them something that will pollute our world for years to come.”

This article was originally published in MIN’s SIBS special edition, Sept 2021.

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