Features Archives - Marine Fabricator

2023 Premier Product Showcase

May 1, 2023 | Features, Premier Product Showcase

For this feature, we asked our contributors to send us information about their high-performing products. The product information was submitted by the participating manufacturers and suppliers by the established deadline. The products are organized into three categories: Fabric, Film & Foam; Equi…

Choosing the right window materials

May 1, 2023 | Features

Selecting boat windows for customers might be the hardest thing a fabricator can do—or the easiest. Most customers have two primary concerns: cost and longevity. Make them something that’ll last and that doesn’t break the bank, and they’ll be happy. Easy, right? Not necessarily, because achi…

2023 MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards

March 1, 2023 | Features, MFA Excellence Awards

Sponsored by the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), the Fabrication Excellence Awards contest is designed to recognize excellence in marine fabrication. The entries are judged by a panel of certified marine professionals. Awards of Excellence and Outstanding Achievement Awards are given in each c…

Made for the shade

March 1, 2023 | Features

Changing consumer trends, evolving boat designs, and fabric and materials advancements are giving marine fabricators ample opportunity to exercise their creative muscles. Interestingly, the pandemic’s supply shortages also forced some fabricators to juice up their innovation with excellent results…

Creative control

March 1, 2023 | Features

Mike Charlton begins most weekdays with a leisurely cup of coffee on his back porch with his wife and business partner, Rachel Charlton, in Yorktown, Va. They typically leave for work by 9 a.m., where they fabricate custom marine canvas projects until 5 p.m.—at the latest.

2023 MFA Time Standards Manual

January 1, 2023 | Features, MFA Time Standards

The Time Standards Manual was developed in 1996 by the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), a division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International, 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 …

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Fabricating metal frames

January 1, 2023 | Features

Fabricating frames, tubing, hardware and other items can present a quandary for marine fabricators. It’s a job that customers need, but it’s not easy work, and it can take a pretty penny to have all the necessary equipment on hand.