Re-Upholstery - Fabric Alternatives

The name of the place was Cook's Upholstery in San Bernardino Ca.

We have two golden retrievers so I fully understand the dog hair dilemma. We normally only let them ride in the 78 and the pontoon just to keep cleaning at a minimum. I've found the best way to clean is letting everything dry then hitting it with a shop vac.

Getting rid of the carpet would be a last resort for me, just my opinion. I think you'll be a lot less comfortable without carpet at your feet and like Chris said above, it's slick plus it will still need cleaning if you do snap in carpet.

Sounds like you need a mop style lint roller?

I am also looking at an interior.. I had looked at Christines as well, but a $3500 bill was a bit steep on a $7000-$9000 boat. So still looking at alternatives.

On a similar thread I want to do away with all the carpet in the boat. We have a dog and the blonde dog hair is really attracted to the 25yr old navy carpet. As pet owners know you can never get rid of Labrador hair.

Current thought is a teak floor from re manufactured salvaged floorboards (about $30 sq yd)and a plywood backed Cordura panel for the side wall. I had thought about grinding/sanding back the raw fibreglass and then a thin filler layer to smooth and then spraying it.
What is the general thought?

kmgilroy wrote: What other vinyl brands have people been happy with?

Did you look at Sunbrella?

Chris, Any Upholstery wholesaler should have a good selection of marine vinyls, I used Rochford supply in Minneapolis. You get what you pay for (if you are lucky), so if you are keeping the boat don't go cheap. I had a 300 dollar budget for the upholstery, (I went over about 50) but it is not holding up well, I would spend more under different circumstances. It is a fun project. I choose not to "keep it original" for simplicity and durability, but at reunion time I regret it. Start with the flat pieces to get your skills up, then move to the more complex curves.

TRBenj wrote: What dont you like about Christines (Nautiqueskins.com)? marinecarpeting.com.

Maybe he is on a budget and does not want to spend 25% of the boats value on upholstery?

Its winter....you can find shops that are not busy to do this kind of work if you do not want it yesterday.

TRBenj wrote: For carpet, I have had great luck with marinecarpeting.com.

Tim, is this where the BFN's carpet came from? I'm replacing the carpet in my Tique this winter and am requesting samples.

agree with tim on copy cat. Even from just emailing them back and forth I would steer clear unless you dont mind waiting forever. Also I have seen pictures of their work and it is usually a much simpler design than the original when it comes to stiching etc. I think you would have been luck and comparable pricing with a local upholsterer. Christines is the highest quality and most accurate skins but will probably be the higher priced. You get what you pay for.

What dont you like about Christines (Nautiqueskins.com)? They can make your skins out of any type of material you want, assuming its readily available. As far as shops who have your particular interior patterns on file, your options are VERY limited. I can think of 2 others, one being the shop that MWCC used to use, and Copycat... but I would steer clear of the latter, based on some scary feedback Ive seen. A factory quality delux interior is going to be expensive any way you cut it.

Your other option would be to have a local upholstery shop make you a set of skins, using your old skins as patterns. Make sure they use marine rated vinyl, with marine rated thread.

For carpet, I have had great luck with marinecarpeting.com.