British boat builder Ultimate Boats signals ambition by unveiling first fully recyclable boat

ExoTechnologies, the maritime green technologies start-up, says it wants to revolutionise boat building after unveiling its first fully recyclable, high-performance leisure boat at Southampton International Boat Show.

ExoTechnologies said the 11m £350,000 vessel has been built at its Ultimate Boats boatyard in Glasgow to a design created by the renowned John Moxham. The boat is being showcased this week at Southampton International Boat Show after being sold to a private owner.

ExoTechnologies CEO Shane Mugan said the company can massively disrupt recreational and workboat boat building by providing a green alternative to fibre glass built boats most of which end up in landfill.

“We are so proud to see the first M – Class boat slip off the production line for the leisure market,” he said. “We think it is one of the very best on the market for performance, safety and innovation. It has state of the art Raymarine Electronics and a top speed of 50 knots. But critically it is built from our own DANU^TM material the most resource-efficient composite on the planet. The boat has incredible manoeuvrability and is perfect for the family with capacity for up to eight people and an operating range of 400 nautical miles.”

The latest venture into the leisure market represents another landmark for Ultimate Boats following a £7million investment in research and development by its parent company the Isle of Man based ExoTechnologies. In June the company launched its first DANU built workboat for Police Scotland. Mr Mugan says he sees recreational boats making up around a third of future turnover and plans to create 300 jobs at the yard within five years.

Mr Mugan said: “We are now seeing real momentum in the business as more people become aware of our technology. We know we are making a significant breakthrough in transforming boat building, as DANU^TM with its superior mechanical strength can replace fibreglass. DANU^TM has the potential to tackle the ecological timebomb which sees hundreds of millions of kilos of fibreglass and thousands of boats dumped into landfill across Europe and America each year.”

Mr Mugan said the company is actively seeking investors and strategic partners “to scale our company to realise the potential of our market leading technologies capable of accelerating the green transition to a circular economy across all industries and markets.”

M – CLASS BOAT SPEC

6 seats 8-10 passengers, 11 metres length, 3.1 metre beam, 750 HP Suzuki engines, 2050 kg payload, 1000 litre fuel capacity, 400 nautical miles range.

DANU^TM background

DANU^TM is the breakthrough composite material of exceptional strength capable of being recovered, re-cycled and re-used repeatedly. Its superior mechanical properties over fibreglass results in improved weight efficiency.

This pioneering resource efficiency technology creates a pathway capable of accelerating the green transition to circularity for composite material used in maritime craft, ballistic resistance, wind turbine blades, automotive solutions, aircraft construction, food processing etc… 

Moreover, its cost is comparable with traditional materials, and no additional manufacturing or labour costs are required. As well as attracting attention from the maritime industry, DANU^TM is drawing interest from other industries, including renewables, transportation, defence, law enforcement, construction, automotive etc…

So far, the development team, has already produced a full-scoped maritime craft solution and ballistic resistant solution ready for scalable production to commercialise this novel technology.

Fibreglass disposal problem

The growing problem of fiberglass disposal goes far beyond the boatbuilding industry and has global implications. According to the “2020 State-of-the-Industry Report,” published in Composites Manufacturing Magazine, fibreglass demand is expected to climb to 1.36 billion kilos by 2025. Fibreglass accounts for well over 90 per cent of reinforced plastics / composites production, with two-thirds destined for the transport and construction industries, followed by sporting/leisure goods and the electric/electronics industry, each with approximately 15 per cent of market share.

Ultimate Boats

UB is an innovative maritime technologies and manufacturing company. It exists to develop the world’s ultimate range of Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB or RIB boat) by sourcing the best multinational talent, components, and industry-leading techniques. It is recognised as one of the most innovative maritime brands.

From its patented John Moxham Hull to the innovative introduction of DANU™, a fully-circular high-strength material which revolutionises the lifespan and sustainability of a hull, all its RHIBs are produced in-house by its team of highly talented craftsmen, engineers, and technicians. By adopting technological advances and using cutting-edge construction methodologies, its pioneering spacious RIB boat design in the military offshore, cabin and sea safari sectors.