Working with plastic

More recently the concept of completely plastic boats developed, most commonly using rotationally-moulded polyethylene. This material is durable and lightweight, almost indestructible and requires no painting or finishing. As the technology matured it became possible to make bigger and bigger items, with boats over 10m long having been made in Australia. Currently the Mac 700GY (at 7m LOA) is the largest plastic boat produced in New Zealand.

We have also seen 3D-printing technology being used to produce entire boats in plastic, although this technology is still radical and very new for boat building.

Although there is often some reluctance to do so, there is no reason why materials cannot be mixed on a boat. Aluminium hulls with fibreglass cabin and decks have been seen for quite some time, while hardtops and cabin roofs are often made of aluminium, fibreglass, or polyethylene. On a