Elite Boat Builders and Refinishing Ltd

24/08/2026

We’re excited to be able to offer this product as an option now 🤩

03/08/2026

❄️ Winter in the yard ❄️

17/07/2026

👀

Elite Boat Builders and Refinishing Ltd has built its reputation on a simple principle: keeping boat owners informed while delivering quality marine maintenance and repair services. Since launching in 2010, the company has expanded its capabilities and grown into a well-established presence at Waikawa Marina.

From antifoul painting and polishing to major repaints and boatbuilding repairs, the team takes pride in helping owners protect and maintain their vessels. Their commitment to customer service, skilled craftsmanship, and a supportive workplace culture continues to set them apart.

Burnsco, Seafarer Marine Engineering Ltd

Full story👇

05/06/2026

✨Estelle✨
A beautiful, well loved and maintained Grand Banks. She recently came inside for a waterline raise, mast paint and a few other yearly maintenance jobs such as Antifoul, Propspeed and Polish.

Getting waterlines right is bit of an art form, we were happy to see the extra time we spent getting the measurements right equated to waterline perfection at relaunch 😃

31/05/2026

Feel Good Friday 😍 Yes I know it’s Sunday but the good vibes from last week have spilled into our long weekend so we can’t help but write a gratitude post tonight. We love a satisfied customer, this year has been pretty exceptional with customers going out of their way to thank our team, we know we’ve got a good team but for our customers to recognise that too and go out of their way to thank them is very special to us.
From boxes of home gown feijoas, peaches & apples to boxes of cream buns, pies and drinks to freshly baked muffins out of the boat’s oven and personally written cards, we couldn’t be more blessed. ✨Thank you ✨

27/05/2026

✨Perfect Autumn day for a haul out ✨

02/04/2026

Perfect bluebird day for launching projects 😎 Happy Easter to all of our wonderful clients, our staff are off for a well deserved long weekend, back on deck on Tuesday.
Side note: Has anyone seen Jock today? He’s been MIA since going to ‘check’ a boat 👀

12/03/2026

They say the kitchen is the heart of a home and the same goes with a galley on a boat 😍
Our clients provided the brief and the Tōtora milled from their own farm and we worked our magic 🤩
These photos are just a wee taster of this project, more to come 👌🏼

12/03/2026

Loving these stunning Autumn days for haul outs and relaunches ☀️🚤 👩‍✈️⚓️

13/02/2026

There’s a lot of this in the marina’s at the moment 😟🥴

Algal blooms spotted in Marlborough's waters in recent weeks may appear concerning, but the public can rest assured that they are generally harmless.

Senior Coastal Scientist Katie Littlewood said marine algal blooms are common at this time of year and occur when microscopic algae and plankton grow rapidly in the water.

They are a natural part of coastal ecosystems and become more common when warm temperatures and nutrient levels increase.

“We’ve had a particularly warm and wet summer which has provided perfect conditions for algal blooms, especially in the Marlborough Sounds. Warmer water enables algae to grow faster, while heavy rainfall washes nutrients from the land into rivers and coastal areas. Calm conditions in sheltered bays and inlets allows algae to build up at the surface, which makes blooms more visible and longer lasting.

“While many are harmless, large blooms can affect water quality and place stress on marine life as they break down. Any bloom carries a risk for human health; however Council’s water quality monitoring shows this is a species called Noctoluca scintillans which is generally harmless. However we recommend not swimming directly in it, eating shellfish from that area, and keep your dog out of the water.”

Noctoluca is commonly bioluminescent and produces a shimmering blue light when disturbed - an exciting sight to see at night.

Algal blooms are monitored by the Ministry for Primary Industries and people should check their website for up-to-date warnings and further information. You can also sign up for email updates about shellfish biotoxin warnings - see the link in the comments.

Conversely, with the recent rainfall there is currently very little toxic algae in Marlborough’s rivers. This could change if the weather is consistently warm and sunny. Here, the most common freshwater toxic algae are Microcoleus*, which form dark brown mats growing on rocks in the river bed, usually in fast-flowing water. When the algae mats become very thick they detach and float in the water, accumulating along the edges of the river. This is when they present the greatest risk to recreational users and dogs.

*Previously known as Phormidium.

📸: The Coastal Science team collects water samples at Torea Bay in the Marlborough Sounds.