Fiberglass & composites
Fiberglass & Composite Repair, Fabrication & Build
Rudders to hulls — repair, rebuild, retrofit and build
One — hardtops and factory modifications
Hardtops, and the factory modifications owners actually want
We build composite hardtops and factory-style modifications for American Tug and Bayliner. For many of these models we hold the production tooling, so the part fits because it is the part — not a pattern taken off someone else’s top. Where we do not hold the mould, we build the tooling and then the part. Waggoner Cruising Guide has covered the yard twice, including the hardtop manufacturing at La Conner.
Built to the model, trial-fitted on the boat, finished ready to install.
Brows, hatches, boarding steps, ladders, fold-out tables and cabinetry as moulded parts.
Modifications developed here and repeatable — the same part, the same fit, every time.
Two — repair
Any damage, from a tap on the rocks to sunk and sailing again
A minor grounding, a holed hull, a flooded boat, a dismasting — or a deliberate change, like adding several feet to a vessel. We take it back to sound laminate and rebuild to the original schedule, and because both yards are full-service, one boat does not become four subcontractors.
We open the damage until we are into sound laminate. What that exposes decides the repair, so nothing is quoted blind.
Rebuilt to the original laminate schedule on a proper scarf — the same glass, the same orientation.
Faired, primed and finished so the repair disappears into the hull instead of announcing itself.
Insurance work
Grounding, collision, fire and sinking claims. We document the damage as we open it, work to the surveyor’s scope, and give the underwriter a written record and photographs at every stage.
Finish work
Gelcoat colour matched and blended into the surrounding panel. Non-skid remoulded to the original pattern. Awlgrip and Awlcraft sprayed in our own 70ft booth, and certified GlideCoat Pro on the way out.
Restoration projects
Osmotic blistering and bottom peels, delamination, wet core replaced with closed-cell foam, transom and stringer rebuilds, hull extensions. Boats that were written off, put back into service.
Three — new builds and manufacturing
New builds, custom yachts and fiberglass work boats
We are a manufacturer as well as a yard. Custom yachts, fiberglass work boats, production parts and tooling — designed, built and finished here. Almost nobody in this trade infuses, and fewer still will tell you how a part was made. We will.
Resin infusion. The dry stack is bagged and resin drawn through under vacuum, so the part carries the resin it needs rather than the resin that happened to end up there.
Consistent every time. Vacuum sets the glass-to-resin ratio, not the operator’s wrist. Maximum strength, less weight, and the tenth part matches the first.
Closed-cell foam coring. Foam does not absorb water and does not rot, which is the difference between a deck that lasts and a deck with a clock on it.
What we build
Custom yachts and one-off hulls. Fiberglass work boats and commercial craft. Production parts, hardtops, hatches, consoles and deck furniture. Plugs, patterns and production tooling, and parts run from them.
Trained to a written standard
A six-level composites programme inside Essential Shipyard University — fundamentals and safety, repair, mould making, infusion, prepreg and autoclave QA.
Tell us the part
Send the boat, the model and what you need. If the part does not exist any more, we can build it. If it never existed, we can build that too.
Gallery
Composite work at both yards
Free for every customer
A complimentary 18-point inspection
An expert technician tests the boat’s systems and writes up every point as Excellent, Good, Monitor, Attention or Critical — a written report telling you what is sound, what to keep an eye on, and what has to be dealt with before she goes back in the water. Free with every job.
EXCELLENT
GOOD
MONITOR
ATTENTION
CRITICAL
Essential Shipyard 