Once you get past the subject of preparing the boat (and the unavoidable antifouling), you can say that the boat is eco-friendly if you live on it. No house, no car, train/cycle trips, a small diesel that doesn't consume much and that, a priori, doesn't run too often, solar panels, a minimalist lifestyle. The carbon footprint is low.
It's all a question of balance, is it more ecological to use the nuclear powered grid or with solar panels and an installation with batteries manufactured with energy consuming processes? These are questions that arise and we will clearly not praise the fact that living on a sailboat is super ecological, except if we sail like fifty years ago: without electronics and without engine.
On the other hand, on a boat, you are aware in real time of your consumption of water, electricity, food and waste production. And in this sense, we have a direct return on our consumption. For us, the best waste is the one we do not create, the best energy is the one we do not consume. And on a boat, that goes without saying. We quickly find habits and routines that make us save... we become "green", even without wanting it!
Excerpt from the book "Apprentice navigators for a year" written by Justine Néron and Antoine Willm
