Caribbean Reef Runner. Coastal bar crosser. Offshore fishing boat. Used hard on every trip.

It came into the Valentus workshop with factory ABS plastic hatches that had cracked and failed. Not cosmetically. Structurally. The kind of failure that happens gradually on boats that actually get used - UV breaks the material down, repeated flexing does the rest, and by the time the owner notices, the hatch stopped contributing to the deck a long time ago.

During inspection the battery mounting system failed assessment too. The factory plastic boxes weren't restraining the batteries under load. They'd been moving, hitting the battery bar, and eventually took out the VSR. The owner came in with a hatch problem and an electrical fault. What he actually had was two structural problems expressing themselves in different ways.

What We Did

Custom fibreglass hatches manufactured to suit the existing moulded deck openings. Profile, edging, and non-skid pattern all matched to the original factory finish. Flowcoated for UV resistance and long-term durability in a saltwater environment.

Battery mounting rebuilt using composite Thermolite pads, glassed in and flowcoated. Hull lifted off the trailer, inspected, and all gelcoat chips and stress cracks ground back, repaired, and refinished. Wiring faults fixed, battery bar replaced, and Optima BlueTop marine batteries installed.

The Result

The Reef Runner went back to its owner ready for the next bar crossing.