Marine Fabricator September/October 2021 - 26

Touch technology from Spradling®
International Inc., which offers darker
colors that stay 20 to 30 degrees cooler
than traditional vinyls. Widely used in
the tow boat market, luxury pontoons
and runabouts, Chil™
Fresco is available
in nine colors ranging from black
to Cognac, and multiple shades of tan
and grey in between.
Spradling's®
Chil™
Fresco with Chil™
Cool Touch technology offers
darker colors that stay 20 to 30 degrees cooler than traditional vinyls.
It is available in nine colors ranging from black to Cognac, and
multiple shades of tan and grey in between. Photo: Spradling
International Inc.
UPPING THE DESIGN ANTE
G
ood designers know how to look for inspiration outside
their own industry. For marine fabricators, this often means
looking to the auto industry-and sometimes that direction
comes directly from the clients. " We've had several customers
matching boat upholstery to cars, " says Chris Costa, owner of
Costa Marine Canvas and Enclosures.
One customer wanted diamond " Bentley " stitching on the
yacht's exterior cushions to match his automobile. Another asked
to have the upholstery of his Valhalla Boatworks V-41 match his
Rolls-Royce, while one client requested that his boat seating
match the style of his Tesla. " He brought the car to the shop
several times for comparison, " Costa says.
But inspiration from automobiles can go deeper than creating
exact likenesses. " I ask customers as many questions as I can
get out of them and then go to work, " says Bill Marriott, owner of
Extreme Upholstery Designs LLC. " If I'm drawing a blank, I'll walk
through a car parking lot for inspiration. "
The challenge, Marriott says, is that higher-end customers may
like what you've done for someone else-such as contoured
sculptured cushions-but then they want you to do something
even more unique for their vessel. " They always want better than
their neighbor, so you're always trying to outdo yourself, " he says.
Supply chain pain
No matter how advanced the materials
are, they're no good to manufacturers if
they can't source them into inventory-
and one of the challenges manufacturers
are facing since the onset of COVID-19
is a disrupted supply chain. " We've had
problems in all areas of products. Fabrics,
foam, etc., have all been hard to get, "
says Chris Costa, president of Costa
Marine Canvas and Enclosures, Egg
Harbor City, N.J. " Foam has become
particularly expensive. As the price of
fuel goes up, foam always goes up. "
Petersen agrees. " All products that use
petrochemical raw materials are facing
cost increases, " he says. " The industry is
still recovering from the freeze in Texas
earlier this year, and there are products
that remain on allocation. "
Fabrics are also proving diffi cult to
procure. " Interruptions in the global
supply chain, including material availability,
container delays and port quarantines-among
other challenges-have
naturally impacted delivery estimates
and costs for a range of products across
the marine industry, " McDaniel says.
" We've seen an incredible surge in demand
for Sunbrella fabrics and record
orders across our portfolio, which has
resulted in longer lead times to get fabric
into the hands of our valued partners
and marine fabricators. "
In the meantime, some fabricators
are exploring fabrics they otherwise
wouldn't have looked at. " Because of
the shortage of materials I normally
use, I've been forced to look into
26 Marine Fabricator | September/October 2021
Marine Fabricator September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator September/October 2021
