In France we have been observing for several years, in research departments as well as on our waterways, a new concept of boats called clean or eco-designed boats. With increasing cost and at the same time the diminution of natural resources, with an accumulation of vessels which at end of life are non-renewable, and with growing awareness of the fragility of the marine environment, architects and shipbuilders have begun to rethink the basics of our navigation. Today research does not only bear on propulsion systems but on the boats' entire life cycle. This concept 'from the cradle to the grave' is a key concept of eco-design. Eco-design means to measure the impact of a vessel from the extraction of raw materials used in its composition, through its design, its assembly and its use up to the end of its life. Whether in the fields of shipping, fishing, recreational boating, or the Navy, more and more boat projects with less environmental impact have appeared.
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