82 JUNE–JULY 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
TECHNICAL
SECTOR SPOTLIGHT | DECKING
trend 2 More innovative materials
Breakthroughs in other industries are
steadily making their way into the marine
sector, providing OEMs with an ever-wider
choice of deck materials. The huge Italian
company API SpA, for example, has been
developing thermo-plastics for industrial
markets since 1956, and regularly releases
new customised compounds of TPU,
TPE, PU and elastomers. These ‘elastic’
properties allow solid deck materials to
remain flexible, whilst also being stable
underfoot but easy to trim and glue.Another key player is the Dutch-based
giant Bolidt, which serves markets as
diverse as sports goods, rail and road
transport and the food industry. Constant
ongoing research, often to meet the
demands of a specific client, is revealing
new breakthroughs for each market sector.
As such, API and Bolidt supply a range of
deck coverings for both the leisure and
commercial marine sectors, and there are
several others like them.
Ultralon would be a typical example.Based in New Zealand, this chemical
company has developed an EVA material
called U-Deck, which weighs just 1.4kg/m².
“Global sales growth has really come
as customers’ awareness of the benefits
of foam marine decking has increased,”
said Paul Goddard, Ultralon Foam Group’s
general manager.
“It has become a viable decking
substitute, economic at approximately a
quarter the price of teak decking, and with
a really good finish. The consumer likes the
level of comfort they get with a soft foam
floor, plus the fact that it’s easy to clean
with a lifespan of 5-8 years. We are also
seeing fewer ‘DIY jobs’, with more owners
wanting a complete fitted solution.”
“Our focus for Europe this year is to find
a strong central European based distributor
through whom we can supply sheets, PSA
laminating and CNC routing capability.”trend 3 Tackling weight
Weight will always be an issue with
anything that uses energy to move it,
especially fast motorboats. The heavier
the boat, the more fuel is required, and
decks contribute significantly to the total
tonnage. Whilst this isn’t really a factor in
buying choices for the boating public, it
remains a consideration for the builders of
performance craft.
Teak is classed as a ‘heavy hardwood’
with a density range of between 600-930
kg/m3 depending on species, but there are
some interesting workarounds. One of the
most obvious is to place slightly thinner
teak strips onto a lightweight composite
panel. An expert at this is Dutch-based
Marron Yachtbuow. The company creates
bespoke panels for the global large yacht
industry and is able to shave a very
helpful 2.3kgs off a square metre with nocompromise to the deck itself. Similarly, cap
rails, bulwarks and other deck furniture can
be laminated to look like solid wood, whilst
having a core of lightweight but tough foam
composite.
Elsewhere, the softwood treatments
such as kebony and lignua provide the oem
with a tough hardwood finish for a weight
of arou d 650kg/m3.
Other advancements have been taking
place with the ‘faux teak’ alternatives. The
Swedish company Flexiteek is a prime
example. Having recently acquired the UK
company Wilks and its Dek-King range,
Flexiteek has also advanced its own brands
with a second generation of PU extrusion.
They’ve called this Flexiteek 2G, and say it
is up to 35% lighter than rival brands. This
brings it in at 4.5kg m2 by using some new
phalate-free chemistries.
Some materials are already lightweight
to start with, and these include compounds
that contain cork. Dutch-based Stazo
Marine Equipment manufactures
Marinedeck 2000 by compressing granules
of natural cork into a polyurethane binder.
The result is a deck material weighing ???per
m2, with good grip and added insulation
properties. The winner is EVA foam, such as
Wasserdeck, Marine Mat or Ultralon, which
tip the scales at just 400gsm.trend 4 Cooler decks
The Tropical sun is merciless and can
quickly raise deck temperatures above bare
foot tolerance. This isn’t helped with black
caulking seams that soak up the infra-red
like a sponge. In the early years, sailors
would find black stripes on their white
uniforms where they had sat on partly
melted seams of tar.
Teak itself tends to be good at resisting
heat due to its fibrous nature, and the Italian decking and partition specialist
Bellotti has an ongoing programme of R&D to
discover new ways of merging natural timber
materials with modern composites used in
boatbuilding New Zealand-based Ultralon produces
U-deck, a lightweight EVA foam-based non slip
available in a wide range of colours and very
good at keeping its cool Lignia is a deck material made by
‘hardening’ clear radiata pine from sustainably
managed forests for a tough and durable finish in
lengths of up to 4.8m Cork material such as Marine Deck 2000
and the Italian Marine Cork brands offer a
polyurethane impregnated cork sheet that is
flexible, stain resistant and gives good grip