Marine fabricators are always looking for ways to make their jobs simpler, safer, and more efficient and cost-effective.

For Mike Boatman of Boatman Marine Canvas, every challenge is a lesson and every connection is a source of inspiration.

Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) board member Kyle Van Damme provides insight into how the MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards work.

Some canvas fabricators get excited when a customer asks for seat covers, helm covers and bolster covers, while others begin to get anxious.

I have been sewing for the better part of 52 years. My dad started a custom canvas company in 1963, when I was a teenager, and I eventually went to work with him. That is where I really started learning about sewing machines.

There are so many marine canvas-related products, like the weatherproof frown, which have almost faded into the past. This is primarily due to mass producers taking shortcuts by creating cheap imitations of the original.