Canvas Innovations

This project won an Award of Excellence in the marine exterior upholstery category of the Industrial Fabrics Association International’s International Achievement Awards (IAA).

This boat was due for a facelift prior to starting this project, but a raccoon helped speed it along, tearing up the boat while in storage. The client wanted the new upholstery to be different than the “standard” Four Winns boat. The client really liked his boat but was tired of everyone comparing his Liberator to everyone else’s. He had some designs in mind and Canvas Innovations put it together.

The goal was to make a one-of-a-kind boat. The boat is a 211 Liberator and the client wanted it to “stand out” as a 211, so they took the graphics from the side of the boat and enlarged them. Then they hand-cut the 211 and sewed it into the sun deck. The color scheme was selected and it was carried throughout the rest of the exterior. A grey “hammered” vinyl was chosen to set off the smooth vinyls.

This project had its own design on the sun deck and throughout. The color scheme complimented the exterior colors of the boat and flowed nicely, meeting the client’s vision. Since the boat was an older model there was a lot of extra work with rusted bolts and t-nuts. There was some rotten wood that was replaced along the way. Re-fitting and re-installing was challenging but it all came together.

It was the “show piece” the client had hoped for. There was no question what model it was and they added the extra “flash” the client required. As a result of our exterior designs, the client decided to have the interior Cuddy done with another custom design. Rarely are interior Cuddy cushions done in vinyl, but the client wanted to create another design with vinyl. The overlapping “swooshes” were the results of another custom design. The first results led to the interior creations, completing the boat for the client.

Project details

Company: Canvas Innovations
Location: Holland, Mich.
Fabrics: Soft sided vinyls by Spradling International Inc. from Keyston Bros., Tenara by W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. from Trivantage LLC