Marine & Caravan Gasfitters Wellington
Your boat or caravan isn’t a house — and the gas rules that apply on land don’t transfer directly to a hull or a chassis. Southern has been certifying LPG appliances afloat and on the road for 40+ years, and we’re on the Chaffers Marina approved contractor list — meaning we can walk straight onto the berth and get to work.
Call 0800 484 353 for a free quote on gasfitting or plumbing for your vessel or caravan.
Gas Safety Certificates for Boats & Caravans
LPG on a boat or caravan is held to a different standard — NZS 5428 covers gas installations on vessels, and the appliance safety rules differ from the residential code. Insurers on boats over 10 m will often require written proof the installation is compliant.
Every job we finish is signed off with a Gas Safety Certificate from one of our Certifying Gasfitters — the document your surveyor, your insurer, and Maritime NZ want to see.
What We Do On Your Boat
From the cockpit to the galley, we handle every gas and plumbing system on the vessel:
- LPG cylinder connections, regulators and solenoid valves
- Gas sensor / alarm install and solenoid wiring
- Marine gas cooker, oven and grill installation
- Gas-fired cabin heaters with through-hull flue venting
- Hot water heaters and engine-cooling coils to cylinder
- Marine toilets, holding tanks and macerator pumps
- Fresh water tanks, pressure pumps and shower mixers
- Bilge pumps, blowers and through-hull fittings
Caravans, Motorhomes & RVs
Same rules, different chassis. Caravans and motorhomes get inspected against the gas standard before self-containment certification — a failed gas check means no WoSC sticker, and no freedom camping. We sort:
- LPG cylinder brackets and bottle lockers (vented to outside)
- Regulator replacement and pigtail hoses
- Gas cookers, ovens and 3-way fridges (12V / 240V / LPG)
- Califont / instant hot water and cabin heaters
- Leak testing, pressure testing and annual servicing
- Written Gas Certificate for NZMCA / insurance
Chaffers Marina Approved Contractor
Most marinas insist on an approved-contractor list before you let a tradesperson on your vessel — insurance liability, hot-work permits, marina access keys, it all adds up. Southern is signed off at Chaffers Marina and works regularly at Seaview Marina and Evans Bay Marina.
That means we already have the site-safety paperwork, the hot-work permits, and the marina office knows who we are when we drive in. You don’t have to arrange anything — just tell us the berth number.
Salt Air Eats Cheap Fittings
The marine environment is brutal on fittings. Galvanised steel corrodes inside a season; regular brass valves go green and stick. On every marine job we specify:
- Marine-grade copper or 316 stainless for rigid gas lines
- UV-stable, CNG/LPG-rated flexible hose for vibration zones
- Bronze or nickel-plated regulators (not painted brass)
- Stainless cylinder brackets and vented lockers
- Double-clamped hose tails on every wet line
It costs a little more on day one — and it’s still working five seasons later when the cheap fit-out is on its second replacement.
Your Job On Time, Or It’s Free
If your haul-out slot is Tuesday, you need the gasfitter Tuesday — not “sometime next week”. Southern has been doing this since 1982, roughly 29,000 jobs completed, and we back every booking with our own promise: Your Job On Time, or It’s Free. If we don’t show when we said we would, you don’t pay.
All work is backed by the Master Plumbers Guarantee. We service boats and caravans from Kapiti through Wellington city and across to the Hutt and Petone marinas.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Any gas work in New Zealand — residential, marine or caravan — must be done by a licensed gasfitter. On a vessel it’s doubly important: marine LPG falls under NZS 5428, which has different venting, bracket and appliance rules from the residential standard. We’re Certifying Gasfitters and we self-certify our own work.