Marine Fabricator March/April 2023 - 24

" For me, success
is achieving your
goals by working
less-not more.
And every risk I've
taken to attain it
has been more
than worth it. "
both personal and professional success as
he determined which aspects to preserve
and avoid in his next career move-
opening his own marine canvas shop.
" It was one of the hardest and scariest
decisions I've ever made but also one of
the best, " Charlton says. " I burned myself
out working for other people, and I
knew I didn't want to live the rest of my
life like that. Before making the jump,
my wife and I had to adjust to the mindset
of being OK with losing everything.
And once we did, everything got easier.
Now, I'm making more money and
working less. "
Charlton Marine Canvas opened as
a full-service canvas shop, but boat enclosures
comprise at least 75% of the
business today. To allow for more creativity
and attention to detail, Charlton
is intentional about which projects he
takes on and unafraid to turn down
business he doesn't deem profi table or
unique enough to pursue.
Decreasing his hours and projects
has increased the quality of his work.
" One of the biggest strengths of our
business is the fact that we keep it
small, allowing us to truly customize
each product. People are often scared
to turn money down, but if you're
four or fi ve months booked out, you
shouldn't be; you should start picking
and choosing the good jobs-the ones
that make you happy, " Charlton says,
noting that his location near the Chesapeake
Bay is also a contributing factor
to his success. " There's more work to
be done in this area than any of us canvas
shops can handle. "
THE SECRET STITCH
When it comes to marine fabrication, Mike Charlton, owner of
Charlton's Marine Canvas, Yorktown, Va., has no greater pride or
pleasure than designing one-of-a-kind projects that pop. His favorite
to date is a 25-foot Parker center console enclosure he and his wife
and business partner, Rachel, installed on their personal boat.
They incorporated a padded diamond pleat into the enclosure panel,
which was unlike anything they had seen before. The project took a week
of practice to complete because stitching a diamond pleating causes
the fabric to shrink.
" If you were stitching diamond pleating into a 12-by-12-inch piece of
fabric, it might be 11 by 11 inches when you're done, " Charlton explains.
" But the enclosure had a surrounding border that had to remain fl at. And
it's all one piece of canvas. So, after a lot of trial and error, I used a secret
strategy I'm not ready to give away. People still tell me it looks impossible. "
A local Parker boat seller saw the design on Charlton's boat and
requested it for his own boat-and the marina owner who saw that boat
then asked Charlton to make him one as well. " Now everyone buying a
boat there is going to see this unique design on his boat and consider
paying us top dollar to achieve a more exclusive look, " Charlton says.
" It's like the Louis Vuitton®
bag of enclosures. "
24 Marine Fabricator | March/April 2023
Marine Fabricator March/April 2023

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