Two boating industry leaders inducted into the NMMA Hall of Fame
September 25th, 2015
Two recreational boating industry leaders received the National Marine Manufacturers Association’s highest honor when they were inducted into the NMMA Hall of Fame on Sept. 15 at the Kentucky Exposition Center during the 25th annual International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX). Bob Long, owner and CEO of JRL Ventures Inc./Marine Concepts, and Dusty McCoy, chairman […]
MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards accepting submissions
September 23rd, 2015
Get recognized for your hard work throughout the year by entering the 2016 Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) Fabrication Excellence Awards. The MFA will accept entry submissions through Oct. 30, 2015. Winners will be mentioned in Marine Fabricator magazine, will receive recognition on the MFA website and will participate in the awards ceremony dinner at the […]
Bringing back Acania
September 1st, 2015
Faithful restoration brings back the style of the roaring '20s. Back in the 1920s and ’30s, large, luxurious cruising yachts were status symbols—often produced for the wealthy who sought to entertain and delight their guests in these elaborate vessels. When built, they earned accolades aplenty—even The New York Times published articles touting the ordering and […]
A clear vision
January 1st, 2015
Charlene and Chandler Clark, owners of Signature CanvasMakers in Hampton, Va., are always careful to protect their clear vinyl windows throughout the fabrication and installation processes. “If we are working with a product that does not have a scratch-resistant coating, we will spray the glass with a protectant prior to working with it,” Charlene Clark […]
What is trending on the water
January 1st, 2015
New acrylic-fabric options, customer color preferences and quilted cushion covers may not be trending heavily on Twitter this week, but in shops around the country, marine fabricators are noticing a changing tide in customers’ custom preferences. Game-changing new products don’t come along every year, but the custom boat-upholstery industry is steadily affected by gradual changes […]
The romance of the water
September 2nd, 2014
On-water repairs aren’t for everyone, but some fabricators are finding business to be lucrative. Question: Do you respond to your customers’ repair needs by hopping in your boat and going to their boats to do the work? Range of answers: “Sounds like fun” to “Nope” to “Oh my God!” Charles Klein, owner of Dorsal LLC […]
Sitting pretty
July 1st, 2014
With access to better fabrics and accessories, fabricators are crafting boat cushions that look great and perform well. Boat cushion design is leaving the Dark Ages, where basic vinyls, color and patterns have reigned supreme. “Over the past 10 years, fashion and design have become more prevalent in the marine industry,” says Patty Mastrandrea, a […]
The science of vinyl discoloration
May 1st, 2014
How it happens & how to prevent it Look around a typical marina during the summer months and you will see dozens of vessels—some new, some old, some big, some small, and perhaps a few that show signs of transient color changes in the PVC fabrics being used. For more than 50 years, PVC discoloration, […]
Step toward technology
May 1st, 2014
Darren Arthur runs his marine canvas shop with two employees—and he’s added an automated plotter-cutter system to improve productivity. The decision to buy a plotter-cutter system for my marine canvas shop was initially an overwhelming idea,” says Darren Arthur, owner of Nautilux Custom Canvas LLC in Hazlet, N.J. “I had never seen that type of […]
Cushions for a lean mean fishing machine
May 1st, 2014
The end use of a boat really dictates how Trevor makes his cushions at Kennedy Custom Upholstery. So last summer when we were asked to make all new cushions for a charter fishing boat, we knew we had to make them as tough as possible while still looking like a high-end custom product. The boat […]