Baltic Yachts are taking the lead on sustainable innovations for the marine sector, where there is a slumbering potential for the use of more ecologically responsible alternatives instead of the established glass and carbon fibres. The Finnish company is a leading maker of luxury yachts and constantly looking for new developments. The latest release, the Baltic 68 Café Racer is made with sustainability in focus and features ampliTex™ natural fibre composites for structural parts.
The Baltic 68 Café Racer is a 68-foot Day Sailer with attitude. It is a perfect example for a new generation of sustainable yachts and how natural fibres play a role in a new sailing experience.
The Baltic 68 Café Racer delivers thrilling, quick, and easy sailing thanks to its eco-friendly construction in combination with a range of impressive features. The un-plug and go electronic propulsion system in combination with an on-board hydrogenerator and solar panels allow this yacht to operate with zero emissions.
Built with flax
The majority of the hull is made of ampliTex™ natural flax fibre reinforcements, rather than carbon- or glass fibres. Consequently, the environmental impact is dramatically reduced as flax fibres are a naturally grown, CO2 neutral raw material. At end of life, the natural fibre composites can be incinerated and used for heat recovery, without residual waste. Thanks to Bcomp’s ampliTex™ technology delivering superior sound deadening properties, the use of insulation can be limited, and weight further reduced. Furthermore, the fibres naturally have around 3 times higher vibration damping, making them attractive for boat building.
Responsible material choices
Not only the hull profits from the use of novel and eco-friendly materials. In the mindset of making the Baltic 68 Café Racer a paragon for a new era of yacht design, a beautiful and durable alternative deck material was used. The cork decking is a hard-wearing and especially sustainable solution, allowing Baltic Yachts to avoid the use of tropical hardwoods.
Natural simplicity throughout
The selection of natural materials extends throughout the interior of the yacht. A mix of wicker, flax and paper cord produces a cool, contemporary ambience, while light oak timbers and flax fibre composites combine with modern textiles, to form an ‘unpretentious simplicity’ as Javier Jaudenes – famous naval architect and interior designer – expresses it.
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