I was a bit of a sceptic when I heard that a manufacturer in South Africa is soon to offer a full, lifetime, structural warranty on the craft they build. Interestingly, it was no surprise to me that it would be the outcome of The Aqua Mall and Twin Boats and Trailers, combining their manufacturing skills. A lifetime is a long time for anything, never mind your boat which takes a pounding from day one as it goes from one wave to the next, fighting back the forces of the impeding water on the hull.

So, just how are these manufacturers able to make a South African first claim by offering a full lifetime structural warranty on every boat sold from the 2009 National Boat show onwards? After spending a day in the factory with Riaan & Andre Van Helsdingen of Twin boats, and Chris Teer of The Aqua Mall, I came to understand and become a believer!

During the vacuum infusion process, a layer of clear plastic is placed on top of the fibreglass to prevent air being sucked in.

Twin Boats and Trailers has arguably been one of the biggest pioneers in South African boat building to date. They are still the only boat builders in SA that use a vacuum-infused moulding process for each and every craft built. It is certainly an expensive way to build a boat, but it's probably the best way to build a craft that ensures complete consistency throughout all the fibreglass work.

But, this method alone isn't the sole reason Twin Boats and Trailers are able to offer this lifetime structural warranty. Using methods and building techniques passed on from Chris Teer of The Aqua Mall, these craft appear to be over-engineered in the extreme for their purpose, and form the main reason as to how you can get the longest lasting, and best deal available in SA.

The vacuum pulls the resin through the mould and serves the purpose of sucking the plastic layer down, squeezing the layers together.

Warranty What?

The most important thing on your mind, is probably wondering if there's a catch.

There isn't. The boat is covered by a lifetime structural warranty. Exclusions are upholstery, fittings and fixtures, and a collision with a solid object.

Does a lifetime just mean a couple of years? No. It's actually valid for the duration that you - the first-hand buyer - own the craft. (This doesn't mean that secondhand buyers are losing out either!)

A company can only make such a bold statement if they are technically strong and financially sound. It would be a crippling blow if five years down the line their craft didn't have the real staying power implied. Chris, Andre & Riaan know their product will easily stand the test of time, and are banking on buyers owning their craft for 20- even 40 years! This means the craft they build have to last almost indefinitely!

Vacuum infusion

For the interests of clarity, let me explain exactly what this is. The boat mould is prepared and fibreglass is evenly laid in the mould. Plastic spiral-wrap is laid along the fibreglass, forming a rib-like formation. This piping becomes the delivery system for getting the resin evenly spread throughout the mould.

A layer of clear plastic is placed on top of the fibreglass, and sealed to the mould to prevent air being sucked in. The stopwatch is set and the pump turned on. The vacuum system literally pulls the resin through the mould at around -.74 kPa, and also serves the purpose of sucking the plastic layer down, squeezing the fibreglass layers together.

Vacuum infusion serves a number of benefits. It guarantees a consistency in the moulding and does away with tiny air bubbles that create weakened bonding and an inferior lamination. It also gives an absolute consistency of the gel coat catalysation. These two benefits together present a third plus, and that's preventing osmosis - a process whereby water is able to get through tiny micro-gaps, and subsequently into the hull.

Twin Boats meter their automated mixing of catalyst to 0.1% tolerances to ensure that their craft are not only as good as they can be, but that each one is as consistently built as the next.

Below the surface

Underneath the deck you'll find an engineer designed longitudinal and transverse sub-floor frame. Although a number of manufacturers use this technique, it's the method of bonding the frame to the hull that appears to make these craft seem over-engineered. As all of The Aqua Mall boats are designed as sea going craft, they need this type of construction because of their weight, distance travelled and speed they are capable of. They also have to be capable of withstanding extreme punishment, if need be. So, when you have a craft up to 22-foot in length with this type of structure you know that the boat is built with the intention of being used every day, 12 months of the year.

The journey to date

Chris Teer of The Aqua Mall, together with Andre and Riaan van Helsdingen of Twin Boats and Trailers, have over 50 years combined experience when it comes to building boats. This amounts to well over 7 000 craft being built between the two companies. Individually, each is known as a strong voice in the boating industry, and their extensive knowledge of boat building is simply unequalled. To say that they know boats is an understatement.

Twin Boats and Trailers are happy to open their factory to the public and competitors. If you don't believe that a manufacturer can offer this type of warranty, you are more than welcome to take a trip to the factory in Vereeniging and see how it's done.

Having spent several hours on both the AquaScape and XXX, I know how solid they feel in the water - and now I know why! Better still, I'll feel safer in my mind that I'm on a boat which is protected by the best and longest warranty in SA. Check with your boat dealer to see what warranty your craft carries.

For more information and queries, contact The Aqua Mall on (021) 851 7710 or Twin Boats and Trailers on (016) 366 1630.