AeroLite Marine Interiors

AEROLITE MARINE INTERIORS

2009-10-16T23:23:00.026-04:00

At AeroLite Marine Interiors, we design, engineer, fabricate, and install ultralight cabinetry and furniture for yachts, commercial vessels, and military patrol craft.

Our product has the look and feel of high quality custom furniture, yet weighs less than a third of conventionally built interior joinery. We accomplish this result by employing lightweight cored materials, married to high-grade genuine hardwood veneers, using durable high-strength marine-grade adhesives. We assure many years of useful life for our products by incorporating special proprietary joining and finishing techniques, developed over decades of boatbuilding experience.

For more detailed information, click on the links shown to the right. Or if you prefer, call or e-mail us to discuss your needs and requirements personally. We look forward to speaking with you.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

Ofc: 3550 Sable Palm Lane, Unit C, Titusville, FL 32780
Workshop: 1012 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville, FL 32780

Tel: 954.224.2145 - E-mail: aerolite@bellsouth.net

PHOTO GALLERY

2009-10-16T23:19:00.013-04:00

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

Ofc: 3550 Sable Palm Lane, Unit C, Titusville, FL 32780
Workshop: 1012 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville, FL 32780
Tel: 954.224.2145 - E-mail: mail@aerolitemarine.com

Copyright © 2010 by Port Royal Group LLC, All Rights Reserved

KEY AEROLITE TEAM MEMBERS

2009-10-16T23:18:00.016-04:00

AeroLite Marine Interiors LLC is managed by Phil Friedman, who has more than 35 years hands-on professional experience in the recreational marine industry.

As president and CEO of Palmer Johnson Yachts, Phil was responsible for executive management of a group of companies with annual gross revenues in excess of $50 million and nearly 600 employees across the country. Under Phil’s direction, PJ developed and sold more than $135 million in new yacht construction and major refit work, and built and delivered a dozen luxury megayachts in the 30- to 60-meter range.

During that period, under Phil's direction, PJ developed and operated two yacht joinery shops, 70,000 sq. ft. in Sturgeon Bay, WI, and 40,000 sq. ft. in Pooler, GA near PJ's Savannah megayacht refit operation. These shops specialized in the prefabrication and installation of high quality yacht cabinetry and furniture. The Pooler shop was also certified by the FAA and produced furniture for the executive jet market.

With Port Royal Group Consulting from 1984 to 2000, Phil provided a broad range of marine-related technical, marketing, and business consulting services to a wide array of clients that included yacht owners, boatbuilders, marine manufacturers, and aerospace companies, as well as advertising and public relations firms. Prior to that, Phil was VP-Operations and CFO for a yacht dealership and chain of boatyards employing 150 craftsmen and trades people in the maintenance and refit of luxury yachts.

Phil has also operated his own custom boatbuilding shops, and through the years maintained an active design, survey, and marine consulting practice. Numerous yachts have been built to his designs in various parts of the world. Several of these have made successful trans-oceanic passages.

AeroLite Shop Superintendent Sigfried Horn has 20-plus years experience as a boatwright, electrician, and industrial operations manager.

Sig handles operations management, including work scheduling, materials acquisition, and safety. He brings to the table many years experience not only in the construction and installation of yacht interior joinery, but in mechanical and electrical design and installation as well.

Chief Cabinetmaker Dave Bogia has more than 25 years experience in high-end cabinet and furniture production.

Dave is responsible for interpretation of shop drawings, work layout, and cabinet design. He also applies his considerable talents hands-on in the construction of much of the cabinet work that we do at AeroLite, including veneering and supervision of our other woodworking staff.

Head Finisher Andrea Kapalin brings artistic talents and many years experience in yacht finishing work to AeroLite.

Andy is an artist and sculptor in her own right, and combines many years parallel experience working with yacht cabinetry and furniture. She displays an exceptionally high level of patience and dedication to perfection, matched only by her expert skills in toning and the application of finishes.

AeroLite Marine Interiors
Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

COMMERCIAL VESSELS & MILITARY PATROL CRAFT

2009-10-16T23:15:00.018-04:00

We also engineer and fabricate lightweight cabinetry and furniture for crew's quarters aboard small commercial vessels and small fast military patrol craft. As with yachts, the very significant weight savings attainable using the techniques which we employ translate into improved performance, reduced fuel consumption, greater range, and/or increased payload.

Naturally, the rigors of intended service for such vessels dictate slightly different specifications for scantlings and finishes; and in such cases, we use significantly more painted and laminated surfaces. However, our broad and long experience in the use of high-strength adhesives such as 2-part expoxies and urethanes, as well as methacrylates, and our proprietary development and testing of joining methods and point-load reinforcement techniques, serve as well in these sectors as in the area of recreational vessels and yachts.

When it comes to furniture for such vessels, we've developed some pretty unique and exceedingly cost-effective designs. These utilize formed and welded, high-strength 6061-T6 aluminum tubing for basic structure. For cabinetry in these vessels, we utilize cored panels with epoxy-FRP skins, producing structures that are exceedingly light, very strong, and remarkably durable.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

PROTOTYPING & ON-SITE INSTALLATION

2009-10-16T23:12:00.017-04:00

For production prototyping, our use of shop-floor “copy space” and full-scale mock-ups allows for cost-effective modifications and fine-tuning on the fly. In prototyping situations, working remote from the boatbuilder's shop floor enables prototype development and refinement without disrupting existing production, while at the same time relieving the boatyard from having to maintain its own separate prototyping facility/operation. And when working in one-off situations, parallel advantages accrue to our method of off-site prefabrication and on-site installation.

Our prefabricated modules are final-fitted and installed on site. We use specially developed, lightened blocking strips, which conform to hull and superstructure contours, and which are bonded to hull and superstructure skins and to structural soles with marine-grade 2-part epoxies and urethanes. All pieces are polyurethane sealed for moisture-resistant longevity after being bonded in.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

Ofc: 3550 Sable Palm Lane, Unit C, Titusville, FL 32780

Workshop: 1012 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville, FL 32780
Tel: 954.224.2145 - E-mail: mail@aerolitemarine.com

Copyright © 2010 by Port Royal Group LLC, All Rights Reserved

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

2009-10-16T23:09:00.014-04:00

At AeroLite, we pay strict attention to critical, but generally unseen detail that significantly affect durability and longevity in service. For example, when mounting hinges, we don't simply bore and fill small holes with epoxy to take the screws; we bond in hardwood or composite plastic inserts that spread the loads involved and assure that cabinet doors do not come flying off when the vessel pounds through a seaway at speed.

For drawer installations, we generally employ very lightweight extruded aluminum with s/s ball bearing drawer slides. These assure smooth, absolutely rattle-free operation, without adding excessive weight. We apply a range of finish coatings, including hand-rubbed alkyd varnishes, and one- and two-part clear polyurethanes. All finish coatings at AeroLite are U-V inhibited. Additionally, we utilize only high-performance adhesives, such as one- and two-part urethanes, two-part epoxies and, when appropriate for installations, methacrylates.

When called for, we install specially fabricated lightweight natural stone countertops and splashes that we have manufactured to our own tightly-controlled specifications. Bolts and screws are always stainless steel, type 316 for the ultimate in corrosion resistance when appropriate and available, type 304 otherwise.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

Ofc: 3550 Sable Palm Lane, Unit C, Titusville, FL 32780

Workshop: 1012 S. Hopkins Ave., Titusville, FL 32780

Tel: 954.224.2145 - E-mail: mail@aerolitemarine.com

CAD/CAM & FABRICATION

2009-10-16T23:07:00.009-04:00

At AeroLite, we utilize the same CAD data that drives the mills which produce the vessel’s hull, deck and superstructure tooling, to develop our in-house shop drawings and dimensions. Provided that the yacht or ship builder works to sufficiently accurate tolerances, we can thus pre-fabricate cabinetry and furniture before and/or simultaneously with vessel shell construction. This works to significantly reduce overall project duration.

Working from the original 3-D CAD data and drawings, we produce our own 2-D orthographic shop drawings and, when indicated and necessary, full-scale shop floor mock-up for client approval before final fabrication.

Cost- and time-efficient prefabrication off-site keeps the job running parallel to the shipyard's project Critical Path. This significantly shortens the overall duration of both new-build and major refit projects. Moreover, prefabrication in a controlled manufacturing environment assures a high level of dimensional accuracy and quality control. And our modular construction techniques simplify installation and ensure expedited installation with a minimum of interference with the boatyard's in-house tradespeople.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

2009-10-16T22:54:00.016-04:00

Achieving significant reductions in joinery and furniture weight involves more than simply using veneers over lightweight cores. At AeroLite, we engineer cabinetry and furniture in a way that virtually eliminates conventional support framing and corner blocking. Instead, we utilize true monocoque construction, in which all major loads are carried in the skin panels. We also employ specially developed methods for fastening hinges, latches, and other hardware, methods which correctly spread loadings and assure that our product stands up to the high G-loads encountered in high performance craft operating at speed in a seaway.

For counter tops, back splashes, and even shower/bath enclosures, we further minimize weight by using high quality acrylic and polyester solid surface material in the thinnest sheets available. But we dont stop there. We re-mill those sheets using our own specially developed proprietary technique to remove approximately an additional 30% of the weight in those sheets, without reducing ultimate structural rigidity or impact resistance.

We do all this while maintaining the ability to accommodate a wide array of styles and finishes, both traditional and contemporary.

Our methods and skills readily accommodate complex designs and shapes, including curved cabinet fronts and doors, highly shaped moldings, and other features inherent to fine furniture design. For small commercial vessel's and military patrol craft, we implement more practical designs and finishes that are suited to the service parameters called out in the governing specifications.

AeroLite Marine Interiors

Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

INTRODUCTION

2009-10-16T22:48:00.007-04:00

At AeroLite Marine Interiors, we aid in the contemporary effort to minimize structural weight by engineering, fabricating, and installing ultralight ship's cabinetry and furniture. Our product has the look and feel of high quality custom furniture, yet weighs little more than a third that of conventionally built interior joinery.

We accomplish this by utilizing lightweight cored materials, such as Tricel™, Nida-Core™, Nomex™, and other honeycomb- and foam-cored panels. We marry these to high-grade genuine hardwood veneers, top-quality laminates and solid surface materials, using durable high-strength adhesives. We assure years of useful life in our products by employing special proprietary joining and finishing techniques, developed by our principals during decades of hands=on experience in boatbuilding.

We handle both new-build and refit projects. Our highly-skilled team can build and install everything from ultralight solid surfaced and natural stone faced counters to built-in cabinets, inlaid tables, and freestanding upholstered sofas and chairs. We can also fabricate and install headliners, joinery partitions, and high quality teak decking, all in weight-saving configurations.

At AeroLite, we contract directly with yacht owners, and we regularly sub-contract for yacht builders and refit boatyards. For more information, including a portfolio of work, and to discuss your project in detail, call or e-mail us today.

AeroLite Marine Interiors
Ultralight Yacht Cabinetry & Furniture

1809 S. Powerline Rd., Units 102-103, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Tel: 954.224.2145 - E-mail: mail@aerolitemarine.com