Commercial marine fiberglass repair in Mobile, AL
Mobile Bay Fiberglass Working boats break differently than pleasure boats. A shrimp boat out of Bayou La Batre grinds against pilings and ice house docks every trip. An oyster boat drags across the same bars all winter. A charter hull running out of Orange Beach or Gulf Shores stacks up more hours in one season than most bay boats see in ten years. The fiberglass problems that follow, worn whalebacks, cracked decks, chewed-up rub areas, holed bows, are the core of our commercial work. We have patched bows that met a piling in the dark and rebuilt deck sections that decades of white boots and shovels finally wore through, and we know the difference between a repair that has to look good and a repair that has to hold up.
We understand the arithmetic of a boat that earns its keep. Every day on the hard is a day of lost trips or lost catch, so commercial jobs get priority scheduling, honest completion dates, and repairs scoped to what the boat needs to go back to work, not to win a boat show. When a full repair cannot fit your season, we will tell you plainly what can wait until the off-season and what cannot, and we plan whaleback, deck and structural work around your haul-out windows, including the pre-storm haul-outs that stack up here every hurricane season.
Insurance and survey work is part of the routine. We repair to survey findings, document everything with photos as we go, write estimates in the format adjusters expect, and will meet your surveyor or adjuster at the boat. For fleet operators, charter outfits and seafood businesses running multiple hulls, we set up standing arrangements so your boats get looked at on a schedule instead of waiting for something to fail during the season.
Commercial work is priced by survey of the actual damage, at the same published shop rates our recreational customers pay. No fleet surcharge, no mystery numbers, just a scope, a rate and a date. If you run a working boat anywhere from the Delta down to the Gulf beaches, call (251) 220-4157 and we will come look at it, dockside if that is what your schedule needs.
When boats come in for this
- The whaleback or deckhouse is cracked and letting water into the structure
- Rub areas along the bow and sides are ground down into the laminate
- A collision or piling strike needs documentation for an insurance claim
- The deck around winches or culling tables is going soft under the crew
- You need repairs done inside a fixed haul-out window before the season opens
- Your fleet needs a standing repair arrangement instead of one-off emergencies
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Workboat and fleet repairs | Priced by survey | Scope from the actual damage, at the same published shop rates as all our work |
| Insurance claim repairs | Per adjuster-approved estimate | Survey findings, documentation requirements, and refinish level |
| Fleet maintenance arrangements | Scheduled by agreement | Number of hulls, inspection interval, and your season calendar |
Full ranges for every job type are on the cost guide.
How the job runs
- Survey the boat dockside or at haul-out and write a scope with a firm completion date.
- Coordinate haul-out and blocking with your yard, or arrange it ourselves.
- Photograph and document everything if an insurance claim or survey is involved.
- Cut out and rebuild damaged laminate to working-boat strength, not showroom cosmetics.
- Finish to the level the job calls for, from workboat paint to full gelcoat.
- Get the boat back in the water on the date we gave you.
Common questions
Can you work around my season so the boat is not down when I need it?
Yes, that is the whole point of how we schedule commercial work. Working boats get priority slots, we commit to completion dates in writing, and we split scopes so urgent structural work happens now and cosmetic work waits for your off-season. Tell us your calendar and we build the plan around it.
Do you come to the boat, or does it have to come to you?
We do dockside surveys and plenty of dockside repairs, from Dog River down to Bayou La Batre. Structural work usually still needs a haul-out for access and dry laminate, and we coordinate that with your yard or arrange it. The survey visit is how we figure out which kind of job you have.
How does insurance claim work go with you?
We document the damage before touching it, write the estimate in the format adjusters expect, and photograph each stage of the repair. We will meet the adjuster or surveyor at the boat. You handle your policy, our paperwork keeps the claim from stalling.
Is commercial work billed at a higher rate?
No, you pay the same published shop rates as every other customer. The price comes from a survey of the actual damage, so you see the scope before you approve anything. What changes for commercial customers is scheduling priority, not the rate.
Get this priced for your boat
Photos plus the boat’s size gets you a written range, usually the same day.