Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

[Bruce Brown]

I'd like to see WB commission a study of wooden boatbuilding's impact on the environment, using fiberglass construction as the control. The following are questions which might be answered:

1. per foot comparison of wooden construction with fiberglass construction e.g total construction costs
2. how worksite construction, emissions, waste disposal, and maintenance compare
3. engine emissions and effectiveness of alternative energy generation in lowering footprint
4. comparison of environmental consequences for longitudinal boat maintenance (anti-fouling, re-painting, rig replacement)
5. wood vs. fiberglass disposal carbon costs
6. carbon footprint estimates for common materials (and alternatives) like epoxies, adhesives and bedding compounds, fasteners
7. how cold molding construction effects traditional wood construction carbon footprint

I'm sure the readership can add to this list...

[wizbang 13]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

trouble maker

[Toxophilite]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

eek! Next you'll be asking if they're politically correct!

[wizbang 13]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

and before we get too deep, a monohulls pronoun is she
a catamarangs pronoun is he

[Skegemog]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

trouble maker

Ha!

[sp_clark]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

Maybe the Admins can move this thread into The Bilge before the knives come out...

[Bruce Brown]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

see, that's why I suggested it!

[Paul Schweiss]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

Send this to the Bilge.

However, I would like to announce I identify as Floki

[Clinton B Chase]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

It's a fair question! The real problem we have is the throw-a-way society we run. That's not so much a woodenboat thing but there is certainly waste. I would suggest that the composites industry is most to blame. The waste from vacuum infusion and the like is breathtaking.

[Breakaway]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

I would think step one would be to define wooden boat. That is, at what point does "composite" become a more accurate description?

Kevin

[Brian Palmer]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

Richard Jagels' column has touched on this tangentially but not directly, as far as I can tell from a search of the magazine index.

[Chris-on-the-Boat]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

Do the research, write it up, and submit it to the magazine.

But i don't think you'll reach any astonishing new conclusions. I think we already know the answer. God didn't make fiberglass trees.

[Garret]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

It would seem to me that traditional construction (carvel or lapstrake) would have little carbon footprint other than the energy used to build & finishes. Paints & epoxy can have significant environmental impacts. The hardware for wood vs, FG would be similar, as well as sails, etc. so I'd think the main difference would be the hull. Cold molded and epoxy covered strip built would lie somewhere in-between I'd think. However, a FG boat at the end of its life goes to the landfill - possibly leaching all sorts of fun stuff into the soil.

The above is more environmental than carbon footprint. Trees remove carbon, but the sawmill uses it - maybe that balances out? Dunno, but it still has to be way less than making fiberglass & epoxy I'd think.

[Brian Palmer]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

There are people who specialize in conducting Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs). One group at the company I work for does them. Completing one for an object as complicated as a boat hull and deck in different materials (wood, solid fiberglass, wood-cored fiberglass, aluminum) would be a significant undertaking. You could have to start with cutting and milling trees and transporting that lumber to where it is used. Extracting oil and converting it into resin, mining silica for glass and bauxite for aluminum, etc.

[AJZimm]

Re: Carbon Footprint of the Wooden Boat

This is the purview of a whole professional field called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which I was tangentially involved with at one point. It can get horribly complicated, but that doesn’t prevent people from having a go at it.

One study on just this topic was done in France in 2016, based on an 18 metre passenger transport boat.

From the abstract of the study: "Our results demonstrate the benefits of using a wood-based hull compared to other materials."

You can, of course, download the PDF of the whole study if you wish