Salti Bliss, and their 8000HT Build
Meet DIY builder Andrew and owner of ‘Salti Bliss’, keep reading to learn more about Salti Bliss and Andrew’s 8000HT DIY build.
What is Salti Bliss? Salti Bliss is a small family-owned business located in Brisbane. We manufacture on site CNC machined aluminium suspension seat bases. We started supplying these to commercial government boats (Marine Rescue, Parks and Wildlife ect) out of Yamba NSW last year and earlier this year we started exporting them to the USA to boat builders. Our plan for later this year will be advertising to capture more of the recreational market in Australia.
How did Salti Bliss begin? In order to convince my wife to let me build a boat, I needed to come up with a product to sell first. While the kit was delivered in May 2022, the idea and concepts of the suspension bases started back in September 2021. Which is when Salti Bliss came to life, two years of R & D and a few changes to the design along the way, but now we offer not just the suspension seat base, but there are options for slides and or slide/swivels bases.
Why did you choose the 8000HT model? We have two boys, and we wanted a boat that was big enough to fit us all comfortably and be able to spend nights away up on the Reefs, Hamilton ect and create lots of memories with them. We loved the idea of the hard top as it gave us plenty of protection from the elements. We also modified the inside of the cab and the transom to suit our needs.
How did you find the build process? Neither my wife nor I had any experience welding. There was a lot of trial and error, researching the net and consulting with mates who helped out (Russell, Ben, Zac, Craig, Cliffton, Steve & Matt) over way too many beers. Considering we have never welded, we are both stoked with the way the boat is turning out and the friendships we have made along the way. We have had the pleasure of working with some awesome tradies from Russ who did a lot of the welding with us, Sue and Pete from Bonza Graphics, Steve and Toni from Grays Marine who helped install all the windows and answered lots of questions, to Mitch at CCA Boards who gave the boat its finishing touch.
