Design and realization a skiff racing boat hull made of natural fibers reinforced composite

This paper discusses the development of a racing boat with an hull made of a composite material reinforced by natural fibers. In particular, we report here the design and realization of the boat hull, the assessment of its mechanical performance by means of a computer assisted simulation, and the cost analysis to assess the economic sustainability of the new composite developed. The results have shown that the new composite has a performance comparable with conventional glass fiber reinforced composites employed for the realization of this type of boat, accordingly to the technology employed and the lamination sequence adopted. Moreover, the FEM analysis performed over the skiff of the designed and constructed boat has demonstrated a successful choice of the material for real application, as it was later confirmed by the good performance of the boat in water. Finally, the cost analysis highlighted the economic sustainability of the new composite, allowing a cost saving of over 28% with respect to carbon fiber composites.