The specific objective of the project was to research and produce a Guide that explores who are the boat builders and stakeholders engaged in Eco-boat building, which methods and/ or materials are used, and to identify the new skills needed for this. Making the Eco-boat building sector more know and informing stakeholders such as boat builders and boat owner/ buyers of the new sustainable materials for boats is a major contribution to making the sector more sustainable and contributing to the European Green deal.
The overall objective of this project was to advance the development of green skills within the innovative and sustainable Eco-boat building industry and the wider boat building industry. Of the estimated 6 million pleasure boats registered in Europe, 95% are built using non-recyclable materials such as GRP (Glass Re-enforced Plastic). This means that the majority of skills required to work in this sector are orientated towards this way of building boats, using non-sustainable skills and materials. Since 2005, many new boat building start-ups have emerged who have researched and tested new sustainable materials which are eco-friendly and recyclable. Also established boat building companies in Europe are waking up to the idea that their range of boats must begin to offer greener alternatives in the way they are built and the way they are re-cycled at the end of their life. But building new boats using new materials and new methods requires boat builders to possess new green skills as opposed to those required for building traditional GRP boats.