Death and taxes may be certain, but for those who own boats, so is canvas damage. For many marine fabricators, the industry is becoming increasingly complex due to computerized patterning software, innovative high-tech materials and tools, and advanced methods for accomplishing just about anything. But most shops still have a hand in a part of the business that never really changes much: canvas repair.

The Time Standards Manual was developed in 1996 by the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), a division of the Advanced Textiles Association, to serve as a benchmark that shop owners can use to set fabrication times, with which they can generate competitive labor costs. The manual is an ongoing project that continues to grow and change in response to the ever-changing marine industry. If you have suggestions for updates or changes, please email barbara.connett@textiles.org and your suggestions will be submitted to the MFA Board of Directors for review and possible inclusion in future editions.

Every fabrication shop owner knows that choosing the right industrial sewing machine can make or break your success in the exacting, often fast-paced world of marine fabrication. In addition to boosting your bottom line, it also might protect your sanity.

After 20 years of teaching the of canvas-making and canvas for our customers, I have become a whistleblower on myself. Seeking humility requires a true confession, after all.

Remember that old saying “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life?” Well, when too many days in a row end with you only feeling the work and none of the play, it is time to change something. Consider starting this new year with a question: Are you mostly working or are you mostly playing?

If you read this magazine with any regularity, you will see many examples of excellence on these pages. These artistic fabricators are perfectionists when it comes to the art of canvas and upholstery for the marine industry. So as not to leave anyone out, I’ll refrain from naming names, but who are these people and how did they become such overachievers in the trade? Are they born with a gift that only some people get? Did their childhood environments lead them to excel at a level above us normies? Perhaps.