Aquafarer
Factory & Manufacturing
12,000 m2 of integrated manufacturing — from raw material to finished boat
As a factory brand of Qingdao Vatrad Group Co., Ltd., Aquafarer controls every stage of production — from the arrival of raw PVC and fiberglass materials to the final pre-delivery inspection of the finished boat. Our manufacturing facility in the Qingdao Economic Development Zone spans 12,000 square metres and houses dedicated workshops for PVC cutting, tube heat sealing, fiberglass RIB hull production, SUP digital printing, final assembly, and quality testing.
By integrating design, engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, and testing under one roof, we eliminate the inefficiencies of contract manufacturing and maintain direct control over build quality, material selection, and delivery timelines. Every boat that leaves our workshop is built by our people, on our equipment, to our standards.
Factory Intelligence
Explore Our Manufacturing Capabilities
Production Capacity
12,000 m² facility producing 15,000+ boats/yr across SUP (8,000+), RIB (2,000+), inflatable dinghy (5,000+), and safety equipment lines. 200+ workers, 2 shifts.
Quality Lab & Testing
Independent QC lab with 4 testing stages: raw material inspection (tensile, tear, UV), 48h pressure hold at 1.25x rated pressure, seam peel testing, and load/balance verification on every boat.
OEM/ODM Capability
End-to-end OEM/ODM services: custom mould design, private-label packaging, custom tube colors, deck graphics (digital & screen printing), Hypalon upgrade option, and drop-ship logistics.
Workshops
Manufacturing Workshops
PVC Cutting & Material Preparation
Automatic CNC cutting machines process PVC, Hypalon, and drop-stitch fabrics with sub-millimetre precision. Computer-optimised nesting minimises material waste and ensures every panel meets its dimensional specification before welding.
Tube Welding & Heat Sealing
Dedicated welding workshop with heat sealing machines and RF dielectric presses. Hot-air heat sealers bond and fuse PVC tube chambers, while RF welds produce high-strength airtight seams that exceed requirements.
RIB Hull Production — Fiberglass
RIB boat hulls are produced using hand-lay-up fiberglass moulding with polyester and vinylester resin systems. Each layer is hand-rolled and vacuum-bagged for consistent quality. Gelcoat spray booth provides a high-gloss, UV-resistant marine finish.
SUP Printing & Decoration
SUP boards are decorated using digital printing for full-colour graphics and screen printing for logos and repeating patterns. Digital printers produce photo-quality deck designs, while screen printing delivers durable, vivid brand marks.
Final Assembly & Rigging
Assembly line where fiberglass hulls and PVC tubes are mated, engines are mounted, steering and controls are connected, and electrical systems are wired. Each boat follows a 100-point assembly checklist signed off by the team lead.
Quality Testing & Inspection
Every completed boat undergoes mandatory air-retention testing, seam peel verification, and a full systems check before shipping. Our quality lab operates independently from production and reports directly to management.
B2B Information
Manufacturing & Trade Terms
Aquafarer is a brand of Qingdao Vatrad Group Co., Ltd. — ISO & CE certified, with 10+ years of export experience.
MOQ
Standard MOQ: 5–10 units per model (SUP/kayak/drop-stitch). RIB MOQ: 2–5 units. Trial orders welcome for new partnerships.
Lead Time
Standard production: 30–45 days from order confirmation. Sample/prototype lead time: 15–20 days. Rush orders available.
Payment Terms
T/T 30% deposit, 70% before shipment. L/C, Western Union, and PayPal available for qualifying partners. Net terms negotiable.
Shipping & Logistics
FOB Qingdao, CIF, DDP available. In-house freight team handles container loading, documentation, and customs clearance for smooth delivery worldwide.
Certifications
ISO quality management. CE (EU) certification on all standard models. FCC/UKCA/FDA upon request. Factory audit reports available.
Quality Assurance
100% air-retention and seam-peel testing on every unit. 2-year warranty on manufacturing defects. Third-party inspection (SGS/BV) accepted before shipment.
Equipment
Key Manufacturing Equipment
Production Flow
From Material to Finished Boat
Every boat passes through 6 production stages with QC checkpoints at every step. No shortcuts, no skipped inspections.
Material Receiving & Incoming QC
All incoming materials are logged by batch/lot number in our ERP system. PVC fabric rolls, drop-stitch cores, valves, adhesives, and hardware are quarantined until QC sign-off.
Tensile strength (ASTM D751), tear resistance (ISO 4674), thickness gauge, adhesive viscosity, visual defect scan
100% of batches tested. Reject if tensile < 90% of spec, tear < spec min, or any visual defect
CNC Cutting & Material Prep
Computer-optimized nesting lays out panels on PVC stock to minimize waste. Automatic CNC cutting machines maintain 0.1 mm positional accuracy.
Dimensional check against CAD DXF files, edge quality inspection, panel count verification
Every 20th panel measured. Tolerance ±0.5 mm. Reject batch if >2% out of tolerance
Welding & Drop-Stitch Bonding
Drop-stitch cores are bonded to outer PVC laminates using heat lamination. Tube chambers are RF-welded or hot-air welded. Rail bands are triple-layer fusion bonded.
Peel test every 50 units (ASTM D751), weld width measurement, hot-air temperature log review, visual seam inspection under backlight
Peel strength min 8 N/cm. Weld width tolerance ±1 mm. Any visible channeling = reject
Assembly & Rigging
Boats move to final assembly where all components are mated: hull + tubes, valves installed, D-rings, handles, fin boxes, and carry bag fitting. Each unit follows a 100-point assembly checklist.
100-point checklist sign-off per unit, valve function test (10 open/close cycles), hardware torque verification, visual inspection
Zero-defect policy on safety-critical items (valves, D-rings, handles). Minor cosmetic: AQL 2.5 (ISO 2859)
Pressure Testing & Quality Hold
Every chamber is inflated to 1.25× rated pressure (typically 20–25 PSI) and held for 24–48 hours. Pressure sensors log continuously. Chambers exceeding 5% pressure drop are rejected and sent for seam re-inspection.
24h pressure hold log, sensor calibration verified daily, temperature-compensated pressure reading, seam re-test after repair
Max 5% pressure drop over 24h at stable temp. Any chamber exceeding this = 100% re-test of entire production batch
Final Inspection & Packing
Final visual and functional inspection. Surface defects, color consistency, label/BIN verification, packaging integrity, and accessory completeness. Units are vacuum-packed, boxed, and palletized for container loading.
Full visual inspection, accessory checklist per SKU, packaging drop test (1 m, random sample), label/bar code scan verification
AQL 2.5 for major defects, AQL 4.0 for minor. Zero tolerance on safety defects. 100% of units visually inspected
Our People
Workforce & Expertise
Engineers across R&D, mold design, materials lab, and production engineering. Average 7+ years in inflatable manufacturing.
R&D & Engineering
Product design, mold engineering, materials lab
Cutting & Material Prep
CNC cutting, panel preparation, material handling
Welding & Lamination
RF welding, hot-air welding, drop-stitch bonding
RIB Hull (FRP)
Fiberglass lay-up, gelcoat, vacuum bagging
Assembly & Rigging
Final assembly, hardware installation, systems check
Quality Control
Incoming QC, in-process QC, final inspection, lab testing
Logistics & Packing
Packaging, container loading, export documentation
Management & Admin
Sales, procurement, HR, finance, compliance
QC by the Numbers
Quality Control Metrics
Real pass/fail data from our production line. Our quality lab operates independently from production and reports directly to management.
Every boat, every chamber, every batch
Over 24h at 1.25× rated pressure
Per ISO 2859 sampling standard
Depending on product category
Safety margin on every chamber
Valves, D-rings, seams, buoyancy
Traceability
Material Tracking & Batch Control
Every batch of raw material is assigned a unique lot number in our ERP system. From arrival through production to the finished product, each boat's bill of materials links back to the original supplier batch. This enables full upstream traceability for any quality or compliance inquiry.
Supplier Material Certifications
See our manufacturing process
Follow a boat through every stage of production — from raw material to sea-ready craft.
View production process →