Beautiful Pilot on Hatecke Lifeboat
Through our dealer Alpha Marine Pro we have been able to create an entrance at Hatecke GmbH, one of the largest lifeboat builders in Europe since 1986. The yard located in Drochtersen Germany was founded in 1903 and with approximately 370 men, € 50,000,000 is raised per year. , – converted. The production of the lifeboats takes place on a site of 30,000 m² divided over 9 halls. One of the most important parameters when building a lifeboat, apart from the fact that it must remain intact, is the degree of fire resistance. To create this, various fillers are put into the top layer (up to 40%). The disadvantage is that you get a surface that quickly chalks up, with all the consequences that entails. First of all, the fading of the color, it serves safety. After all, when you’re floating at sea, it’s handy to be seen quickly, hence the bright color scheme. In practice, it is often seen that after a very short period (about 3 months) the colors fade as a result of the chalking. Cleaning the lifeboats offers no solution, apart from the fact that this has to be done in a high frequency, the polymers discolor to yellow tones. This results in a change of color and an increasing decrease in gloss level. The boats are getting duller.
Alpha Marine Pro en recently visited our colleague Sebastiaan de Reus Hatecke to explain our vision on the maintenance of boats and the associated surfaces. The gentlemen were able to give an extensive presentation and answer all questions. In addition, Hatecke’s wishes and needs were inventoried and it was decided to carry out a pilot based on this.
In the week of May 2, a pilot was carried out on a lifeboat of the cruise ship Aida Perla. This cruise boat was at that time stationed at the Damen shipyard Wilton Feijenoord. The rescue boat that was treated was about 5 years old. Alpha Marine Pro, in collaboration with fellow dealers CMC-Pro, TwentyOne Maintenance and Juma Marine, took care of this sloop under the guidance of the Impressed Pro team. After an intensive pre-treatment program, the boat was treated with the Impressed Pro Marine Coat protection system, which was reinforced with Graphene for this specific project. The protection system is applied using XVLP technology.
The end result is very positive. The yellow color has been completely reduced and, moreover, the degree of gloss is very high. In addition to the safety aspect, this gives the lifeboats a luxurious appearance that fits such a cruise ship. In the coming period we will monitor the sloop and the work will be further evaluated in consultation with Impressed Pro, dealers and Hatecke. The aim is to draw up an extensive procedure in the future that will guarantee the safety of the lifeboats and, of course, the cruise boats themselves.