Oracle recycles carbon yacht

There’s an old adage that goes along the lines of ‘nobody wants a dead race yacht’. And Larry Ellison and his Oracle team seem to have found that out.

It appears that they no longer want the boat known as USA-71, an 84ft carbon racer built for the 2003 America’s Cup campaign. For the past few years it has languished outside the Oracle HQ and now, in collaboration with Boeing, Oracle Team USA has decided to recycle it.

According to Oracle, over 3000kg of carbon fibre will be recycled with 75 per cent coming from the 25.2 metre hull and 25 per cent from the 32 metre mast. The boat will be cut up into manageable sections before it is ‘repurposed’. According to Oracle the yacht will be biggest carbon fibre structure ever recycled.

"The introduction of composites in yacht construction was a major step in our sport. The materials and processes have continued to evolve, allowing us to build the high-tech, high-speed AC72 catamarans raced in this year’s America’s Cup," said Chris Sitzenstock, Oracle Team USA logistics. "Now, we have the ability to work with Boeing to take the next steps in composite recycling, and to help reduce our environmental footprint. We will also look to recycle carbon components remaining from the build of our yachts."

"Boeing leads the commercial aviation industry in increasing the use and recycling of composites to improve aircraft fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Billy Glover, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of market strategy. "We are very pleased now to work with Oracle Team USA, which transformed the science of sailing to win the America’s Cup, to advance sustainability and the science of composite recycling."

Through these processes, Boeing and Oracle Team USA expect to gather data about the mechanical properties, costs and time flows to recycle sailing-grade composite materials in comparison to aerospace-grade and automobile-grade composites. The companies have not determined the post-recycling use of the yacht’s carbon fibre, but potential end uses include consumer and industrial products.