Boatbuilders and Marine Fitters - Can you Fit Beautiful Marine Floors?Fitters
Introduction - Why we need good fitters!!
Beautiful Marine Floors was established 3 years ago to supply marine fitters with high quality boat decking and flooring products to help them service their boat-owning customers. We are looking for more boatbuilders and fitters to install our products.
We understand that there is only a finite amount of working time available in the week for fitters to earn money, which is why our aim is to keep as much of their time focused on productive work as possible. At Beautiful Marine Floors, we work with fitters in two important ways: firstly, we drive new business to local fitters through active marketing campaigns and secondly, we advise customers on the latest marine decking and flooring products and provide guidance to help them decide which product would best fit their needs.
Retail customers regularly contact Beautiful Marine Floors via our helpful website for samples and advice on a wide range of flooring and decking products (both internal and external). There are 3 types of exterior decking that we advise on namely, PVC synthetic teak panels, EVA foam and Composite Cork as well as interior products.
Exterior Decking - PVC Synthetic Teak Panels
Template
Beautiful Marine Floors has an extensive database of different boats in order to estimate the cost of supplying panels relating to both powerboat and sailboat cockpit seat, floors, side decks, and bathing platforms. We supply both trade and retail prices for panels relating to most boat types. Retail customers either seek a local fitter (usually from our database of certified fitters) or fit the panels themselves after making a custom template for their boat. Templates are usually supplied to Beautiful Marine Floors on a mylar film which can be supplied by Beautiful Marine Floors if necessary. PVC Synthetic Teak Strips are made into panels in the same way as a typical teak deck
Panel Example - before being rolled up and wrapped for despatch
Final Product - Aesthetically pleasing, durable, little to no maintenance
Exterior - Composite Cork Roll
This is the latest and most ECO product that Beautiful Marine Floors has been involved with. In many ways it is the most interesting product for local fitters or DIY enthusiasts as it requires all the necessary labour on site rather than being pre-fabricated elsewhere. In its development we found it is less than ideal as a panel product because more delicate parts of the panel are susceptible to damage during transport. However, it works well on larger boats by fabricating whole decks on site. The product comes in 13m x 1m rolls that can be easily teak oiled, cut to shape and bonded with an ms polymer to the deck surface. Once the product has been laid the pattern can be drawn on the deck and a 3mm deep caulking channel routered. This channel should be regarded as the baseline and using the channel in conjunction with an inexpensive jig the router can be used to produce identical channels a fixed distance apart (usually 50mm in line with standard teak decks).
Once the deck pattern is routered with the channels to the desired deck design then they can be masked and filled with an appropriate ms polymer caulking/adhesive
Smaller panels can still be made off site and even margins bonded to panel edges and filled. Large boats can have ECO decks made quickly at very reasonable costs. The benefits of cork rubber composite is that it is soft underfoot, low maintenance (teak oil), durable and cool underfoot. Cork is an amazing insulator so it should be of particular interest to large steel and wooden boats.
Here is a large wooden boat that has had the caulking channels routered and is ready for masking up and caulking.
Interior Products - Teak Carpet off the Roll
Beautiful Marine Floors have been developing a range of teak carpets to their own designs. Composite teak carpet is a unique blend of carpet and vinyl that is becoming increasingly popular due to its practicality, durability and good looks. It can be cut to shape off a 2m wide roll easily and does not fray. Colours include traditional, weathered and aged with the traditional having a choice of black or white caulking.
The same designs are also available to those preferring a more typical pile carpet but these will fray unless bound and come on a 1.8m wide roll.
Vinyls and Woven Vinyls
Beautiful Marine Floors also supply vinyl flooring that is often used to refurbish existing interior soleboards off the roll. Woven vinyls are also available off the roll which represent more practical alternatives to the more traditional pile carpet.
Certified Fitters
In an attempt to give customers a greater degree of confidence we have been listing fitters whom we have verified as competent. Whilst we cannot guarantee the work of a Beautiful Marine Floors Certified Fitter, the trademark the fitter carries tells you that Beautiful Marine Floors have undertaken a range of checks and are satisfied that these Certified Fitters have the necessary experience and knowledge to fit our decks and panels to the standards we expect.
