Nautilus Innovation

Modular floating platforms for resorts and remote-island construction.

An engineered floating work and building platform for resort construction, remote islands, Caribbean lagoons, marinas and waterfront projects. It ships in standard containers, assembles locally and can later be reused for public decks, floating pickleball or padel courts, and floating accommodation.

Nautilus Water Suites is the hospitality craft built up on the platform. The Escape Edition shows what that finished craft can become.

Nautilus modular floating structure supporting the two-storey Escape Edition floating accommodation
Escape Edition 2026 / concept render / GA Rev AA
01

Nothing to rust, nothing to paint

The hull is sealed PE100 pipe. No coatings, no anodes, no blasting.

02

Ships in containers, bolts together on site

Factory-made parts, assembled by a small local crew with no welding.

03

Engineered for what it carries

Buoyancy, freeboard and stability are checked for every use and loading case.

The brand architecture

Nautilus Innovation builds the platform. Nautilus Water Suites builds up the craft.

The engineered floating foundation is a Nautilus Innovation platform. Nautilus Water Suites is the sub-brand for the completed floating accommodation built on that platform—structure, interiors, services and guest experience included. The same modular floating structure can serve as a construction work platform, floating pickleball or padel court, public event deck, landing stage or waterfront hospitality space. Explore the wider resort design, procurement and construction practice at Nautilus Innovation ↗.

Nautilus Innovation / Pipe Hull System

A modular floating work platform that never needs painting.

Modular floating work platform with PE100 pipe hull carrying construction materials
Work Platform / concept render / 21 October 2026
0paint on the hull, ever
0welds on the pipe hull
1 boxof pipes floats an 85 m² work platform
4 daysto assemble with a crew of four

How it works

Hull, frame and deck—each doing one job well.

Exploded diagram showing the sealed PE100 pipes, treated hardwood frame and deck layers
Exploded build-up of one module
01

Sealed pipe hull

Large-diameter black PE100 pipes are capped, air tested and fitted with a pressure gauge in the factory. Each pipe is its own watertight compartment.

02

Treated hardwood frame

KERAS GL20 keruing glulam spreads the deck load across the hull. Every member is fully machined before ACQ pressure treatment, then labelled for assembly.

03

Deck and wearing surface

Hardwood boards form the working deck. For vehicles and tracked plant, an optional 3.2 mm galvanised chequer plate becomes a sacrificial, replaceable wearing layer.

04

Built to be lifted

Lift points and landing blocks are carried by the frame, so the pipes only carry their own weight out of the water.

Section model showing three sealed PE100 pipes beneath the hardwood frame

Standardised buoyancy

ISO 4427 PE100 pipe, sized to the project.

Standard outside diameters run from 630 to 1,200 mm, with walls from about 19 to 68 mm. Pipe size and wall are selected for handling, impact, loading and operating depth.

Every pipe is factory air tested at 0.30 bar for one hour, with a test record for its serial number.

Timber treatment specification

ACQ-treated keruing, specified for a marine working platform.

The structural frame uses pressure-treated keruing hardwood rather than creosote-treated timber. Treatment protects against decay and insect attack; the architectural coating is a separate finish.

Primary structure
KERAS GL20 keruing glulam
Secondary structure
Solid keruing, ACQ pressure treated
Preparation
All cuts, holes, seats and profiles machined before treatment
Treatment standard
CSA O80 preservative-treated wood, or the approved project equivalent
Deck
Reclaimed Belian, EN 350 natural durability class 1; no preservative treatment required
Fixings
Grade 316 stainless steel throughout the timber assembly
Finish
Leave to silver naturally, stain, or apply a compatible marine paint system
Quality record
Treatment certificates supplied with the timber kit; project retention and penetration confirmed before manufacture

First use / working life

A reusable floating work platform for construction.

The modular work platform can carry materials, a small vehicle or tracked plant; land over a folding ramp; or work with an optional spider crane. Spuds hold the floating structure as a stable construction deck in sheltered water. When the project ends, the platform is ready for its next use rather than disposal.

  • 7.24 × 11.8 m standard deck, about 85 m²
  • About 13.5 t product carried without crane
  • About 9.5 t product carried with a 3 t class spider crane
  • Optional chequer-plate wearing layer for tracked plant
Download the Pipe Hull System brochure PDF ↗
Aerial view of a modular floating construction work platform with ramp and stabilising spuds
Standard three-module work platform

Stability and operating evidence

Wide, shallow and checked across every loading case.

6 / 6

loading conditions

meet the IMO 2008 Intact Stability Code, Part B 2.2 pontoon criteria

48°

range of stability

against a minimum criterion of 20°

8.3–15.6 m

transverse GM

from loaded to light condition

≈ 4.4°

damage heel

with one outer pipe flooded and the crane aboard

The platform remains afloat if one pipe floods. Freeboard—not stability—sets the product rating for the standard work platform.

These figures apply to the current standard three-module work-platform design. Final ratings are confirmed for the configuration, load, water and approvals route, then verified by load and inclining tests at launch.

Built and shipped

Standard boxes. Four days. No welding.

Containerised modular floating platform components prepared for delivery to a remote resort location
One container of pipes; one container of timber kit

A complete work platform ships in two closed 40 ft high-cube containers. Because the boxes fill by volume rather than weight, the platform travels as standard freight to any suitable port.

  1. 01Unload and set out the nine pipes
  2. 02Place the primaries and fit the straps
  3. 03Pin the modules together
  4. 04Drop in the bay frames and secondaries
  5. 05Lay the hardwood deck
  6. 06Fit ramp, spuds and bumpers; commission and launch

Resorts / remote locations / Caribbean

Floating building platforms designed around difficult access.

Remote resort projects need useful marine infrastructure before the guest facilities are complete. The Nautilus system arrives as standard freight, bolts together with a trained local crew and starts work as a stable floating construction platform. When construction is finished, the same modular asset can be reconfigured for hospitality, recreation or accommodation.

01

Resort construction platforms

Move building materials, compact plant and project teams across sheltered lagoons and resort shorelines. Configure the deck, ramp, spuds and optional crane around the construction sequence.

02

Remote-island logistics

Ship the pipe hull and treated timber kit in standard 40 ft containers to locations where transporting a conventional barge or welded pontoon is difficult. Assembly is local and requires no welding on the hull.

03

Caribbean waterfront projects

Develop work platforms, landing stages, public decks, floating sports courts and Water Suites for suitable Caribbean and tropical sites. Wind, waves, hurricane exposure, moorings and local approvals are assessed for each location.

Best suited to calm and sheltered water. Every resort, island and Caribbean project receives a site-specific review of loads, freeboard, stability, access, mooring conditions and the applicable approval route.

First use to second life

One modular floating structure. Multiple commercial uses.

01 / first use

Floating work platform

A hard-working modular deck for island, marina and waterfront construction—moving materials, carrying plant and supporting crane operations.

Construction asset

02 / second life

Three families of use

The flotation and structural platform stay in service. The deck layout and what is built above it change.

A

Floating public spaces

Accessible waterfront bars, cafés, event platforms, swim decks, social spaces and landing stages.

B

Floating pickleball and padel courts

Full-size pickleball or padel courts on a stiff, level floating base, with lighting and perimeter systems engineered into the platform.

C

Floating accommodation

Build upward into a complete Water Suite. The Escape Edition demonstrates two storeys of floating accommodation plus a roof terrace.

Built precedent / Miami 2024 / Yntegra Group

Yntegra Floating Padel Court.

The completed court demonstrates the destination value of a floating sports platform. Nautilus supplied the earlier steel modular hull system—two hull sets comprising eight modules, installed in two days—for Yntegra Group's Art Basel activation in Miami.

System distinction: these photographs show the built Yntegra court on the earlier steel modular hull route. They do not depict the new PE100 pipe-hull platform described above.

Developer
Yntegra Group
Debut
Art Basel, Miami · 2024
Resort application
Signature amenity developed for Rosewood Exuma, The Bahamas
Yntegra Floating Padel Court in Miami with players and guests on the modular floating sports platform

Project imagery courtesy of Yntegra Group. Select any photograph to open the official project story.

Concept render of a floating padel court built on the Nautilus PE100 pipe-hull platform
PE100 pipe-hull application study / separate from the built Yntegra steel-hull court / 5 × 2 modules / 12.1 × 23.6 m
Plans for modular floating work platform, floating pickleball court, floating padel court, walkway and event deck layouts
The same module family can move from working platform to court, public deck or built-up hospitality use.

Higher-value second life / Nautilus Water Suites

Escape Edition 2026: two-storey floating accommodation.

Nautilus Water Suites is the complete floating accommodation craft built on the Nautilus Innovation platform. The Escape Edition shows open living at deck level, a private guest suite above and a roof terrace, ready to be towed into position and connected to shore services.

Original high-resolution bow-quarter hull render of the Nautilus Escape Edition Water Suite
Original Escape Edition hull render / bow quarter / 18 October 2026
17.8 × 7.9 moverall deck
≈ 140 m²hardwood deck
2 storeysplus roof terrace
10 kWhbattery buffer

Water Suite plans and answers

The built-up craft, all in one place.

The original render set, floor plans and the practical Water Suite questions stay with this application of the Nautilus platform.

Is the Water Suite the hull platform?

The Nautilus Innovation platform is the engineered floating foundation. Nautilus Water Suites is the completed hospitality craft built on it—structure, interiors, services and guest experience.

Can the Water Suite be two storeys?

Yes. The Escape Edition shows open living at deck level, a private suite on level two and a roof terrace above. The final layout and loading are engineered for each project.

How is the Escape Edition moved and positioned?

On the PE100 pipe system, the Escape Edition is intentionally a non-propelled accommodation craft. It is pushed or towed into position and held on the project-specific mooring system. Its precise registration and approval route is agreed with the relevant authority for the country and operating area. Where the brief requires its own propulsion, the steel modular hull is the appropriate route.

Where are the floor plans and exterior elevations?

The plans-and-elevations download above includes the deck plans, upper-level plan, roof-terrace plan, sections and exterior elevations for the current Escape Edition concept.

Two systems / two operating routes

Non-propelled platform or powered craft.

Version 2 / PE100 pipe system

Non-propelled modular floating structure

Intentionally designed without its own propulsion.

Role
Work platform, sports court, public deck, landing stage or non-powered Water Suite.
Movement
Pushed or towed by a workboat, then held on spuds or a project-specific mooring system.
Approval route
Non-powered platform, pontoon or accommodation craft, as required by the local authority.

Steel Solution v1.0 / modular hull system

Propelled craft

The route when the brief requires its own propulsion and a rated powered hull.

Role
Powered accommodation craft and permanent heavy installations where conventional marine steel is the right answer.
Movement
Configured with its own propulsion and manoeuvring systems for the project.
Approval route
Designed and certified as a powered craft under the applicable flag, class or local rules.

Built precedent / Maldives / Steel Solution v1.0

The original steel modular platform in construction.

Archive photographs from the Maldives show the black marine-steel modular hull, the structural deck and the Water Suite superstructure being assembled above it. This is the earlier Steel Solution v1.0—not the current PE100 pipe-hull platform.

The final registration, rating and certification route is confirmed for each country, operating area and use before the design is finalised.

How we work

From brief to handover in six clear steps.

  1. 01

    Brief

    What the platform carries, where it goes and the water it sits in.

  2. 02

    Engineer

    Hull, frame, deck, buoyancy, freeboard and stability.

  3. 03

    Manufacture

    Pipes capped and tested; timber cut, drilled and treated.

  4. 04

    Ship

    The kit travels in standard 40 ft containers.

  5. 05

    Assemble

    A local crew bolts it together with our drawings and supervision.

  6. 06

    Operate

    Jet wash, gauge checks and straightforward deck upkeep.

Frequently asked

The practical questions.

What is a modular floating work platform?

It is an engineered floating structure assembled from repeatable hull and frame modules. The Nautilus work platform is sized for construction loads, shipped in standard containers and bolted together locally without welding the pipe hull.

Can it support resort construction in the Caribbean?

Yes, where the water and operating conditions are suitable. A Caribbean resort platform can be configured for materials, plant, access, landing-stage or later hospitality use. Wind, waves, hurricane exposure, freeboard, stability, moorings and local approvals are checked for the specific site.

How is the platform delivered to a remote island?

The standard work platform packs into two closed 40 ft high-cube containers: one for the PE100 pipes and one for the machined timber kit. A trained local crew can bolt it together on site without welding the pipe hull.

Can the system become a floating pickleball court?

Yes. The module family can be configured as a full-size floating pickleball court or floating padel court, with the court surface, perimeter systems, access, lighting, freeboard and stability engineered for the site.

Can it support floating accommodation?

Yes. The platform can support non-powered floating accommodation such as the two-storey Nautilus Water Suites Escape Edition. Structure, loading, services, moorings and the approval route are developed for each location.

Does the pipe hull need painting or anodes?

No. PE100 does not corrode. Care is cleaning off marine growth and checking the pipe pressure gauges.

How is the timber frame protected?

The keruing frame is fully machined first, then ACQ pressure treated. It is not a creosote treatment. The completed timber can be left to silver, stained or finished with a compatible marine paint system, and treatment certificates are supplied with the kit.

What if a pipe is damaged?

Each pipe is sealed on its own, so damage floods only that compartment. The standard work platform remains afloat with one outer pipe flooded, and the pipe can be repaired or replaced.

Can the platform be lifted out of the water?

Yes. Lift points and landing blocks are built into the frame, so the pipes are never used as supports out of the water.

Which system is intended to be propelled?

The PE100 pipe system is deliberately non-propelled: a workboat pushes or tows it, and it holds position on spuds or moorings. The steel modular system is the route for a craft that needs its own propulsion and a rated powered hull. The applicable registration and certification are set for each jurisdiction and operating brief.

Where can it be used?

Calm and sheltered water: lakes, lagoons, marinas and resort shorelines. Exposed sites require a project-specific check.

Who approves it?

Requirements vary by country and use. We set out the engineering, registration and approval route for each project as part of the design.

A platform for the next project—and the one after it

Tell us what you want to put on the water.

Share the location, the load and the water conditions. We will come back with a platform layout, the containers it ships in and a budget.

Email hello@nautilus-innovation.com