Version 2.0, effective 2 October 2026. This document replaces the four separate terms and warranty documents dated June 2026.
Floats and Frames is the trading name of Kiboko Limited, company number 15303394, VAT registration GB 467 8499 19, of 12 Allens Lane, Poole, Dorset, BH16 5DA ("we", "us", "our"). These terms apply to every quotation we issue, every order we accept and everything we supply, whether you buy as a consumer or in the course of a business. Where a clause applies only to consumers or only to business customers, it says so. Please read them before you order; by placing an order you accept them.
The short version
- We manufacture and supply finished components: Cutlass Marine floats, fabricated aluminium framing and modules, and the fixings that go with them. You, or a contractor you appoint, assemble, launch and moor them. We do not install.
- Prices in our builders and quotations are held for 7 days. Almost everything except stock floats is made to your order, and is paid for in advance, in stages for larger builds. Delivery is charged per mile from Poole and quoted with the order.
- Check your goods as they come off the trailer. Transport damage or a visible fault reported within 7 days, before the goods are fitted or launched, is put right at no cost.
- Our floats carry a 10-year warranty (Cutlass Marine 400) or 15-year warranty (foam-lined 400F and 600F). Aluminium framing carries 15 years in fresh water and 10 years in salt, brackish or tidal water. The warranty follows the structure if it changes hands.
- The warranty asks three things of you: keep every float within its rated load (never less than 300 mm of freeboard), keep floats off rock and abrasive ground, and seal the threaded insert caps you are not using.
- If a covered component fails we repair or replace it and, within mainland UK, we pay the carriage. We do not pay for removal, refitting, craning or lost use, and we are not liable for the structure you build on our components.
- Nothing in these terms takes away your statutory rights as a consumer.
Part A: Terms of Supply
1. What we supply, and what we do not
We design, manufacture and supply modular floating-structure components: rotomoulded Cutlass Marine pontoon floats; fabricated aluminium framing, pontoon bases, floating-home structural kits and mooring and marina components; and the inserts, fixings, connectors and accessories we list for them. Everything is supplied as finished components for assembly by you or by a contractor you appoint.
We do not carry out installation, assembly on site, launching, mooring, piling, bank fixing, fit-out, electrical, gas or plumbing work, or commissioning, and nothing we supply includes those services. Independent, insured installation contractors who know our system well are available and we are happy to recommend them. They quote and contract with you directly, on their own terms, and we are not a party to that contract or responsible for their work.
Where we provide design assistance, layouts, builder outputs or calculations, they are provided to help you specify your order, based on the information you give us (see clause 8).
2. Quotations and prices
A priced list emailed from one of our online builders, or a written quotation from us, is an offer to supply the items listed at the prices shown. Prices are held for 7 days from the date of the email or quotation unless it says otherwise. After that, prices may change and we will re-quote.
Prices are shown excluding VAT with VAT stated separately, or clearly marked as including VAT. Delivery is quoted separately with each order and is charged per mile from our factory in Poole. Larger orders may need more than one shipment, and large or bespoke components may need specialist transport; where that applies it is included in the delivery quotation. Any change to the specification after a quotation is issued may change the price and lead time. If a quotation contains an obvious pricing error we will tell you before accepting the order.
3. Orders and payment
An order is accepted when we confirm it in writing and the payment due with it has been received. Our standard terms are payment in full against pro forma invoice before dispatch or collection. For larger or bespoke builds we agree staged payments in the order confirmation: each stage is payable before the corresponding phase of fabrication begins, and the balance is payable in full before the goods are dispatched or collected. We may suspend fabrication or withhold delivery while any payment is overdue.
Business customers: overdue amounts carry interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Consumers: we may charge interest on overdue amounts at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from the due date until payment.
4. Made-to-order items and cancellation
With the exception of stock Cutlass Marine float units, almost everything we supply is fabricated to your configuration: framing is cut, welded and finished to your dimensions, formation and options. Once fabrication of a made-to-order item has begun, the order cannot be cancelled without liability for the costs incurred, and payments made for completed stages are not refundable.
If you are a consumer buying at a distance, the 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 applies to stock items such as float units, and does not apply to items made to your specification or clearly personalised; we tell you which is which before you order. Full details, including how to return stock items and what we can do to help resell unused bespoke framing, are on our Returns & Cancellations page, which forms part of these terms.
5. Delivery and collection
Lead times stated in quotations and on our website are our best estimate at the time and are not guaranteed; we will keep you informed and tell you promptly if a date moves. Time of delivery is not of the essence.
Deliveries are normally made on our own trailer. Pallet, curtain-sider and van deliveries are possible for some consignments, and collection from our Poole workshop is always welcome. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, you are responsible for providing safe access for the delivery vehicle, a suitable hard-standing or kerbside point, and the equipment and people needed to offload: float units weigh between 60 and 100 kg each and framing modules are listed by weight in your quotation. If a delivery fails because access, offloading or someone to receive the goods was not available as agreed, we may charge the cost of the wasted journey and re-delivery.
6. Inspection on delivery
Risk in the goods passes to you when they are delivered or collected (clause 7), so the moment to check them is as they come off the trailer or leave our workshop. Please inspect every item on delivery or collection, before it is moved on, fitted, assembled or launched, and tell us within 7 days of any transport damage, shortage or visible fault, with photographs and your order reference. We will repair or replace anything that is our responsibility at no cost to you: stock items normally within 7 working days, made-to-order items as quickly as re-fabrication allows.
Once goods have been fitted, assembled, launched or otherwise put into use, or have been damaged after delivery, we can no longer tell transport damage from handling damage, and claims for transport damage, shortages or visible faults will not be accepted. This does not affect the Product Warranty in Part B for manufacturing defects that could not reasonably have been seen on delivery, or your statutory rights.
7. Risk and ownership
Risk in the goods (loss, theft, damage) passes to you on delivery to the agreed address or on collection. Ownership passes only when we have received payment in full for the goods and for everything else you owe us. Until then you must keep the goods identifiable as ours, insured and in good condition, and we may recover them if payment is not made.
8. Your responsibilities when using our components
Our products are engineered components. The structure, vessel or platform you build with them is yours, and these points matter both for safety and for the warranty:
- Loads and buoyancy. Rated loads, buoyancy figures and builder outputs assume balanced loading and are calculated from the information you give us. You are responsible for the actual weight and weight distribution of everything placed on the base, and for keeping every float within its rated load: in service, no float should ever sit with less than 300 mm of freeboard.
- The structure on top. Design, engineering, assembly and compliance of the cabin, deck, building or equipment carried on our components are your responsibility, including any engineering sign-off you choose or are required to obtain.
- Bases joined in series. Pontoon base modules connected end to end rely on the structure built on them, or on optional joint bracing or side rails, for stiffness across the module joints. If you have not specified bracing or side rails from us, or a cabin kit from us that provides that stiffness, the design and control of hinging, racking or "veeing" at the joints under offset or uneven loading is your responsibility.
- Assembly. Assemble using our guidance, the supplied threaded inserts and the shared bolt pattern. Do not drill, cut or weld into float bodies. Use fixings of the specified grade and torque.
- Insert caps. Threaded insert caps are supplied unsealed so they can be used for ballast trimming and inspection. Any cap not in use must be sealed by you (marine silicone or equivalent) before the float goes into service. Water ingress through an unsealed or re-opened cap is outside our responsibility.
- Mooring and restraint. You are responsible for mooring, anchoring, guide piles or other restraint so that the structure cannot drift, ground on hard or abrasive surfaces, or collide with other objects.
- Inspection. Visually inspect floats, fixings and framing at least once a year and after any grounding, collision or extreme weather. Keep a simple record; it helps with any warranty claim.
9. Permissions, compliance and insurance
You are responsible for obtaining and complying with any planning permission, mooring consent, navigation licence, Boat Safety Scheme certification, environmental or harbour authority approval and insurance required for your structure and its location, and for complying with any regulations that apply to a habitable or occupied structure. Our advice guides on planning and licensing and self-build certification explain the landscape, but they are general information, not advice on your project.
Our components are supplied for incorporation into a craft or structure that you, or a builder you appoint, complete. We are not the manufacturer of the finished craft. Where the Recreational Craft Regulations 2017 apply, responsibility for the finished craft's conformity, including any post-construction assessment if it is placed on the market within five years of completion, rests with the person who completes it or places it on the market. We will supply reasonable documentation about our components on request to support that process.
10. Design assistance and intellectual property
Any drawings, layouts, calculations, builder outputs, renders and specifications we produce remain our intellectual property, as do the designs of our products. Where we produce them for your order you may use them for the purpose of building and operating the structure they describe, and not for having components manufactured elsewhere. If you buy floats only and design and build your own framing, that is entirely your design, and our float warranty continues to apply provided the floats are mounted using our inserts and guidance. Where we are engaged to produce a bespoke design, the scope of that design and what we take responsibility for will be set out in the quotation.
11. Our liability
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, for liability under Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited by law. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if goods are faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose.
Subject to that: our total liability in connection with any order, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, is limited to the price paid for the goods concerned. We are not liable for loss of use, loss of income, profit or business, or for indirect or consequential loss; for the cost of removing, refitting, craning, towing, lifting or accessing our components or the structure built on them; for damage to any vessel, building, structure, contents, equipment or property placed on, attached to or adjacent to our components; or for the work, advice or omissions of any contractor you appoint, including contractors we recommend. You should insure the structure and its contents from the moment our components are delivered.
12. Orders outside the UK
Unless agreed otherwise in writing, goods for delivery outside the United Kingdom are supplied ex works from our Poole workshop. Carriage, insurance in transit, export and import formalities, duties and taxes are your responsibility. Warranty remedies for goods outside mainland UK are supplied ex works (see Part B, clause 6).
13. Events beyond our control
We are not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including severe weather, transport disruption, raw-material or component shortages, industrial action, utility failure or action by any authority. We will tell you as soon as practicable and agree a revised timetable.
14. General
These terms, our Returns & Cancellations page, our privacy policy and your order confirmation are the whole agreement between us for an order; variations must be agreed in writing. If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. No one other than you and us has rights under them. You may not transfer an order without our consent, except that the Product Warranty transfers as described in Part B. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction; if you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.
Part B: Product Warranty
1. What this warranty is
This is the manufacturer's warranty for products we make: Cutlass Marine float units and the aluminium framing, modules and structural components we fabricate. It runs from the date of delivery or collection and it is in addition to your statutory rights, not instead of them. The warranty is transferable: if the structure or vessel built on our components changes hands, the new owner has the benefit of the remaining warranty period on production of the original purchase reference. Items we supply but do not manufacture (decking, cleats, anchors, chandlery) carry their own manufacturer's warranty, which we pass on where one is available.
2. Warranty periods
| Product | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cutlass Marine 400 float | 10 years | Standard rotomoulded HDPE cell |
| Cutlass Marine 400F and 600F floats | 15 years | Foam-lined: integral aerated-polyethylene wall stiffening gives greater long-term resilience, including for beaching and hard-standing duty on suitable ground |
| Aluminium framing and structural components, fresh water | 15 years | Inland rivers, canals, lakes and non-tidal waters |
| Aluminium framing and structural components, salt, brackish or tidal water | 10 years | Estuaries, harbours, coastal and tidal sites |
| Inserts, fixings, connectors and caps supplied by us | 2 years | Against manufacturing defect; not against wear, corrosion from dissimilar metals introduced by others, or incorrect torque |
3. What is covered
Within the warranty period we will repair or replace any product we manufactured that fails because of a defect in materials or manufacture when used in accordance with these terms. For floats that includes incomplete or faulty moulding, wall-thickness or weld defects, loss of watertight integrity of the float body in normal service, and structural failure through creep or deflection under loads within the rated capacity. For aluminium components it includes fabrication and weld defects and material faults. Our polyethylene is UV-stabilised: structural degradation from UV exposure within the warranty period is covered; surface chalking, fading or colour change is cosmetic and is not.
4. Conditions of the warranty
The warranty applies while the product is:
- used free-floating in fresh, brackish or salt water, within its rated load, with balanced loading, and with not less than 300 mm of freeboard on every float at all times;
- assembled and mounted in accordance with our guidance, using our threaded inserts and bolt pattern, with no drilling, cutting or welding into float bodies;
- in service with every unused threaded insert cap sealed by you;
- moored or restrained so that floats are not grounded on hard, rocky or abrasive surfaces; foam-lined F-variant floats may be beached or dried out on smooth, soft or prepared ground as part of their design duty, and no float may be beached on rock, sharp or abrasive ground;
- where base modules are joined in series, stiffened across the joints by bracing or side rails from us, or by the structure built on them (Part A, clause 8);
- visually inspected at least once a year (keep a note of the date and anything found).
5. What is not covered
- Overloading or unbalanced loading, evidenced by any float running with less than 300 mm of freeboard, or any failure that follows it.
- Mechanical damage: goring, scraping, abrasion, impact, collision, grounding on rock or sharp debris, dragging or sliding on slipways, hard standing or ground, or damage from repeated lifting in and out of the water.
- Damage caused during lifting, craning, transport or relocation after delivery.
- Damage arising while navigating or being towed: collision, grounding, wave or wake impact, and loads from propulsion, steering or towing fittings attached by others.
- Failure of mooring, anchoring or restraint systems, and any damage that follows it, including during floods or changes in water level; flood debris; grounding when water levels fall.
- Storm, wind, falling trees, debris, lightning and other environmental events.
- Hinging, racking or joint damage on bases joined in series where the stiffness across the joints was your responsibility (Part A, clause 8).
- Water ingress through unsealed, re-opened or damaged insert caps, or through holes or cuts made by anyone other than us.
- Modification, repair or re-work by others; fixings, torque or assembly contrary to our guidance; components from other suppliers.
- Fire, chemical attack, vandalism, ice pressure or ice shove, and sites exposed to conditions beyond those agreed in writing for the order.
- The structure, vessel, contents or equipment built on or attached to our components, and any consequence of their failure.
- Cosmetic wear: scuffs, fading, chalking, staining, biofouling and marine growth.
- Normal wear of sacrificial or consumable items such as fender strips and rubbing strakes.
6. What we will do
If a claim is accepted we will, at our choice, repair the component or supply a replacement of the same or equivalent specification, at our cost. For addresses in mainland UK we also pay the carriage of the replacement to you and, where we need the failed part back, the cost of collecting it. Outside mainland UK the replacement is supplied ex works from Poole and carriage, duties and taxes are your responsibility. A replacement carries the remainder of the original warranty period. The warranty does not cover removal of the failed component, refitting of the replacement, craning, towing, diving, lifting, access, loss of use or any other cost, which remain your responsibility (see Part A, clause 11).
7. How to claim
Email info@floatsandframes.com within 30 days of discovering the problem with: your purchase or order reference; clear photographs of the component and of the structure in the water showing freeboard; the location and water type; and a short description of the loading and how the structure is moored. We may ask to inspect the component in place or have it returned to us; within mainland UK we arrange and pay for collection if we need it back. We aim to assess every claim within 14 days of receiving the information we need.
8. Your statutory rights
This warranty is given by Kiboko Limited, 12 Allens Lane, Poole, BH16 5DA. It does not affect your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or any other statutory rights, which apply alongside it.
Contact
Kiboko Limited trading as Floats and Frames · 12 Allens Lane, Poole, Dorset, BH16 5DA · +44 (0)1202 156790 · info@floatsandframes.com · Company no. 15303394 · VAT GB 467 8499 19