Cooler decks

THE NETHERLANDS, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. At SuperyachtDESIGN Week 2013, Esthec—part of Bolidt, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year—provided designers with the opportunity to play with designs using its special hard-setting mixtures. It was also an opportunity for the design community to learn about the various benefits and flexibility offered by the material as an alternative to teak. In an effort to produce a better product, Esthec has refined its product to make it more appealing to the market.

The Dutch composite specialist has spent the past three years developing its Esthec Lined Sheets range to produce a product that doesn't heat up when exposed to the warmth of the sun. “Since the product was introduced we have expanded the possibilities for its use in terms of colour and design,” explains Marcel van der Spek, commercial director at Esthec. “As the benefits of this material have not been fully explored by the market, we have focussed our attention on issues regarding heat retention. Our products are always compared to teak and in the past Esthec has been found to be a higher temperature than teak when exposed to the sun.”


The solution to this problem lies in adding a new component to its secret mixture. What makes this new component special is that it has no impact on the strength, longevity or grip of the product. The lighter coloured element merely aids in keeping the temperature of composite low in comparison to other decking materials, including teak.

“We fitted this more advanced product onto the deck of a boat and compared it to a boat with our regular Esthec on it, which was a grey colour,” recalls Spek. “I measured the temperature of both of them and the Esthec, which was in direct sunlight with no wind, was 63C on the swimming platform. We then measured the boat next to this, which had a teak finish and it was 57C. This is obviously less but not yet comfortable barefoot, as the temperature should not exceed 50C in order to be comfortable in my opinion. We then tested our new cooler Esthec, which has been fitted to one boat so far, and the swimming platform was 38C. This was with an outside temperature of 30-31C, so there is a significant improvement.”


The improved Esthec Deck is limited to three colours—Platinum, Champagne and Blanc de Blancs—adding to Esthec’s existing 10 standard colours.

Related Links:
Esthec (a division of Bolidt)

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