Tideman Boats US, North Andover, Mass., a builder of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) boats, has opened a location in the U.S.
Since beginning production and delivery of HDPE boats in 2013, European companies such as Damen, BP, Boskalis, Astaldi and others have been using Tideman Boats for their own marine operations or for that of their customers.
Bruno Tideman started the company by designing and building a fast and durable workboat for rough environments. The "virtually indestructible" Tideman Rigid Buoyancy Boat (RBB) features a 100% HDPE hull design. The Tideman RBB has a service life much longer than competing workboats, a very low carbon footprint during production, no bottom paint, no gelcoat, and are 100% recyclable, company officials said.
"We are very excited that we will now manufacture the powerfully designed Tideman RBB HDPE workboats in the USA,” Matt O'Sullivan, head of sales and business partnerships at Tideman Boats U.S., said in a statement. “Our high speed, lightweight, quiet, and rugged hulls are virtually unsinkable and have a limited lifetime warranty on the hull with a standard manufacturer's warranty on installed components. The U.S. market has been waiting for this.”
Tideman Boats US workboat hulls are manufactured in the U.S. in a thermoplastic welding fabrication facility that has been designing, manufacturing, and providing high-impact solutions for many industries, including fire, marine, and aquaculture, since 1986.
HDPE hull features include superb buoyancy with density ranges from 0.93 to 0.97kg/dm3, lighter than fresh water and much lighter than seawater, zero corrosion, zero maintenance as oxygen, salt, and water have no damaging effect on HDPE, the company said. There is no time-consuming need to rinse after use, no gelcoat to repair and no bottom paint at all.
In addition, there is no troublesome marine growth as it does not stick to HDPE hulls, so the underside remains clean and the boat keeps its speed — HDPE is quiet and stealth for military and for fishing.
The boats are also resistant to fuel spillages, chemicals, and UV exposure. Black HDPE contains carbon, preventing the boat from becoming brittle with harsh sun exposure — even in tropical conditions. HDPE is viscous and elastic, preventing damage and cracks and ideal for working in coastal and shallow waters as well as around dangerous structures.
The boats are designed to have a five times lower carbon dioxide footprint compared to aluminum.
