Photo: Design Techniques LLC

Boat owners may upgrade because of innovations they’re seeing on new boats just hitting the water. But sometimes boat components wear out and need to be replaced. That’s where fabricators can play a role in steering their customers to an updated look for their vessels.

“The biggest challenge in renovating interiors is getting the customer to look beyond what they already have,” says Scott Weatherly, owner of Design Techniques LLC, a fabricator in La Conner, Wash. “As soon as we can see that the foam in their current seating is expired, I emphasize that this is an opportunity to have me make them anything they may want.”

Weatherly says he tells his customers that they are free to seek inspiration from any vessel of any age, but it’s an opportunity to spruce things up with a newer style. “Just because someone’s boat is older doesn’t mean it has to look it,” he says.

For the most part, Weatherly explains, longtime owners of a boat will tend to stick with something similar to what they had before. “But the new owner of a ‘project’ boat is much more likely to abandon the old style and color palette and opt for more modern touches,” he says.