The Upholstery Forum

Hey, all,

I need to redo the vinyl seats, bolsters, etc., on my offshore boat, and I want to use the best marine vinyl available.

Can anyone point me to the toughest, most UV-resistant, rub-resistant marine vinyl out there? This is for a boat that gets a lot of hard use in saltwater sport fishing, with people climbing/standing on cushions, smashing into bolsters, etc.

Since most of the value in this is the labor, I want to use the best material I can get.

Thanks,

Jeff

In my opinion spirit millennium Naugahyde is one of the best choices for this type of application. https://www.albrightssupply.com/product ... +naugahyde

John,

Thank you very much for your reply. That looks like good material. My only concern -- and I probably should have mentioned this in my OP -- is the pebbled or textured surface it has...I'm wondering whether that will give bait slime/fish blood/bird guano/mold/lichens a foothold, especially when the boat is laid-up in the yard in the winter.
If I could find that material in white with a smooth finish, that would be ideal, but I'm not seeing anything like that.
Have you used that material for boats? Any trouble with my concerns?
Thanks again,

Jeff

Everything I've used has a grain pattern to it. Some more pronounced than others. As far as what we use, Sunbrella Horizon has the best uv and rub rating that i know of. Still has a grain to it though. I'd suggest to leave out all of the welt cord on the whole project, it's just a place for dirt and water to collect and is almost always the first failure point when they get abused.

There are a few top quality Marine vinyls . . .

I have used Nautolex and Morbern - both seem to be high quality. I think Nautolex might be a bit better . . .not sure.

Thank you for the advice, guys. I appreciate it.