With areas of several hundred square metres, yacht decks actually offer designers a true playground for creative development. And yet our bare feet usually walk over plain teak planks without any frills. However, this could soon change. Wolz Nautic, a company specialising in teak decks, has developed a modern manufacturing process that will make it possible to integrate complex ornaments made of solid wood into teak decks in the future. "We have already received our first orders for 80-metre-plus yachts," says André Hofmann, Head of Marketing for the maritime sector. "We are firmly convinced that numerous owners will have their decks decorated as soon as word gets around about this type of solid wood ornamentation." The use of laser cutting systems allows the Bavarian wood experts to produce solid wood ornaments with the same precision down to the last detail as has been the standard for filigree veneer inlay work for decades.
When producing the ornaments, the company, which is headquartered in Gaukönigshofen, Lower Franconia, relies on its patented and prefabricated deck structure, which has proven itself in the nautical environment. Depending on the order, teak, fineline or wenge wood is used on a cork carrier board. "We process around 500,000 metres of wooden strips into around 2,000 ship decks every year," explains Jörg Bubelach, the Wolz Nautic manager responsible for the megayacht sector. In addition, different raw materials such as wood, stone and plastic can be easily combined with each other, so that even unusual ornamental designs can be realised. "The yacht designers we have spoken to so far are enthusiastic about the diverse design possibilities of our system," adds Bubelach.
During the production of the wooden deck jewellery, each individual component is given a unique code. "This ensures that individual planks and ornamental details are interchangeable," says Jörg Bubelach. A usable thickness of up to twelve millimetres also allows the ornamental surfaces to be refreshed several times. Re-sanding can be carried out as part of a refit in a single operation with the teak deck sanding. The prefabrication of the ornamented teak deck is carried out according to data measured digitally on board using a 3D laser tracker. In this way, Wolz Nautic guarantees millimetre-precise fitting and time-saving installation of the panels, some of which are large in size.
