The company

Big-brand quality.
Without the big-brand price.

Our mission is simple: make high-quality boats as affordable and accessible as possible, for one private owner or a fleet of fifty.

Our mission

Good boats at a fair price

Most of Europe's best-known RIB brands don't own the factory that builds their boats, but you pay as if they did. We partner directly with one of the largest and most experienced RIB shipyards, oversee production ourselves, and pass the difference on to you.

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to own a reliable, well built boat, whether for family weekends, sport or commercial duty. That is why we sell to individual customers with no minimum order quantity, and partners who order several boats a year receive a modest volume discount: from 2% for three boats up to 7% from 100.

  • English-law contract and a European partner you can call
  • Production supervised to our specification, not just ordered
  • Import, delivery and registration handled entirely by us
  • Support that continues after handover, parts, advice, warranty
RIB boats in production at the shipyard
120+
The people

Over 120 people work together on your order

From Aquaforth and our partners, at the shipyard, in quality control, in freight and customs and at your destination. You only ever need one contact: us.

  1. At the shipyard

    Production coordination

    Our coordinator at the shipyard follows every order through each stage of the build, sends your production updates with photos and catches any fabric or fitting issue before it reaches your boat.

  2. Before every export

    Quality inspection

    Our inspector at the yard checks tubes, seams, hull, systems and finish against a detailed checklist and documents it with the photos you receive. Nothing is crated until it passes.

  3. Sea freight and customs

    Import & logistics

    Our logistics team books the sea freight, prepares the export and import documents and follows your container from loading to the destination port, with live tracking for you.

  4. At your destination

    Delivery & handover

    Our delivery team handles customs release, onward transport and the handover, and keeps you informed of the exact arrival date so your boat reaches you ready for the water.

  5. Before and after handover

    Registration & customer care

    Customer care takes care of the immatriculation and paperwork for you, and stays your point of contact after handover for parts, questions and warranty.

The shipyard

Where your boat is built

Our manufacturing partner has been building rigid inflatable boats for over 11 years, more than 50'000 to date, including production for well-known European brands. Under our HEDIA™ programme, the same lines, materials and craftsmen build exclusively to Aquaforth specifications.

The shipyard from outside

How production works

Aquaforth is the official EU distributor working in close partnership with the shipyard in Weihai. Every AQUAFORTH order is built from the materials we specify, Orca® Hypalon™ or reinforced 1.2 mm PVC tubes, AlMg5 marine aluminium or GRP hulls, precision-engineered steering, on dedicated HEDIA™ production slots.

  • Fixed material specification per contract, no silent substitutions
  • Stage photos: lamination, tube bonding, fit-out, water test
  • Our own quality supervisor signs off before crating
  • Every boat ships with full documentation and CE certification
11+
Years of shipyard experience
50’000+
Boats built by the shipyard
100%
Orders inspected before export
3yr
Manufacturer warranty

Modern machinery, every step

The shipyard works with the equipment you expect from a modern RIB builder, so every boat comes out with the same precision, whether it is the first or the five hundredth of the year.

  • Computer controlled cutting tables that cut every tube panel to the millimetre
  • Hot air and high frequency welding for PVC seams, climate controlled bonding rooms for Hypalon
  • Vacuum infusion for GRP hulls, CNC cutting and TIG welding for aluminium hulls
  • Every tube pressure tested chamber by chamber before fit out

The shipyard’s patented ultralight hull form

AQUAFORTH hulls are built on the ultralight hull form patented by our manufacturing partner. The deadrise, the spray rails and the run of the bottom are shaped so the boat lifts onto the plane early and then glides on a small wetted surface, with less drag and less fuel for the same speed.

Light laminates and marine aluminium keep the weight down without losing strength: an SP 360D weighs 145 kg dry and still carries up to 650 kg. That makes the boats quick, easy to tow and economical with fuel.

Our network

The specialists behind every delivery

Beyond our own team, we work with established freight, customs, inspection and registration partners, so your boat moves smoothly from the shipyard to your marina. Roles handled for you include:

Import & customs

Clearance, duties and paperwork coordinated at your destination port.

External quality inspection

Independent pre-delivery survey in addition to our own supervisor.

Registration / immatriculation

Flag, hull identification and registration documents prepared for you.

Freight & forwarding

Container booking, export handling and live shipment tracking.

Partner agencies we work with

MaerskSea freight & containers CMA CGMOcean freight, export Ulix Grand SudCustoms & import, FR / Med BYRRegistration & flag documentation Independent surveyorsExternal pre-delivery inspection Local delivery partnersFinal transport in each country

Partner names are shown as examples of the agencies we work with; the exact partners depend on your country and route.

Headquarters

Where to find us

Aquaforth Nautical Trade & Solutions Corporation Ltd, 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom. International enquiries run through our London office, visits by appointment.

Inside the Aquaforth office
Aquaforth office building
Aquaforth office surroundings
Meet us at the boat shows or our office.
We keep no retail showrooms in any country; that overhead never reaches our prices. Meet us at the boat shows or our office, or ask about our show boats, available to view, and in several countries to rent, near you.
Arrange a viewing
A note from the director

When I started Aquaforth, I had one simple question: why should a well built boat cost twice as much just because of the name on its side? After years in international trade I knew that the quality gap between the big brands and the shipyards that build their boats is far smaller than the price gap.

So we built a company around that idea. We work directly with the shipyard, we specify every material ourselves and we check every boat before it leaves the factory. We run no showrooms and no chain of distributors, and what we save goes into the boat and into your price.

Buying a boat abroad should never feel like a risk. That is why we take care of the freight, the import and the registration, and why we stay at your side long after the handover. Whether you order one boat for your family or a fleet for your organisation, you deal with the same team and you can always reach us directly.

Thank you for your trust. I look forward to seeing your boat on the water.

Samuel HunakFounder and Director, Aquaforth Nautical Trade & Solutions Corporation Ltd

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