Cockpit Seat Cover Material?

[SC35]

What is the best exterior cockpit seat cover material these days?
e.g. if you buy a new Princess or Fairline, what would it come with?

Current material is very canvas-like, shows up salt marks, not very soft to touch.

 

[DavidJ]

Not at all useful to you but I replaced my 20 yr old Sealine seat covers with vinyl again. It’s old style but so good for the application and will outlast the boat now.

 

[SC35]

Looking really good there.
I need something that looks "original" to an SC35 but hoping that a more modern material might be better.

 

[tico]

Had Martin Deuce make new exterior cushions last year covered in 'Silvertex' on his recommendation.... Looks and wears fantastic, best thing I did

 

[n.herring]

Another vote for Silvertex, easy to clean and looks good

 

[Greg2]

We did our previous S34 in Silvertex - excellent stuff!

 

[DavidJ]

We did our previous S34 in Silvertex - excellent stuff!

Any pics?

 

[lisilou]

Had our 35 redone in silvertex when we had her. Same colour as the original but way, way better material.

 

[SC35]

Had our 35 redone in silvertex when we had her. Same colour as the original but way, way better material.

I’m feeling the collective love for Silvertex here ?

 

[Greg2]

Any pics?

Yes, lots but every time I try to post one on here from the iPad it won’t do it - I get the same message that says ‘Oops, we ran into some problems.’ No clue what the problem is and very occiaonally it actually posts a picture. Very frustrating - I will have a go later but in the meantime you can see some pics here
.

 

[SC35]

Yes, lots but every time I try to post one on here from the iPad it won’t do it - I get the same message that says ‘Oops, we ran into some problems.’ No clue what the problem is and very occiaonally it actually posts a picture. Very frustrating - I will have a go later but in the meantime you can see some pics here
.

That usually means the picture is too large.
When uploading, hit "Actual Size" then select a smaller size: less than 1MB should do it.

 

[Dino]

I use the Image Size app on my iPad, very easy to resize photos for posting.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Yes, lots but every time I try to post one on here from the iPad it won’t do it - I get the same message that says ‘Oops, we ran into some problems.’ No clue what the problem is and very occiaonally it actually posts a picture. Very frustrating - I will have a go later but in the meantime you can see some pics here
.

A way round this is to use the following Postimages — free image hosting / image upload

 

[Greg2]

Thanks for the tips on posting photos. I didn’t realise that hitting ‘Actual Size’ as suggested by SC35 gave other options. Doh!

Our S34 with new Silvertex. We included blue piping, which we liked but that will be a matter of personal taste.

 

[lisilou]

I’m feeling the collective love for Silvertex here ?

Well worth the outlay. Well suited to the SC35 appearance too.

 

[tico]

 

[Portofino]

We ummed and arred pre covid .Saw a lot tbh they looked ok , the more we saw the more confused we became and eventually went off the boil .
Its was further compounded by the classic retro feel of white interiors for Itama , it’s a brand image bit like the Riva turquoise.
The OEM plastic cockpit seating was getting tired at the corners .Whites not the most practical in terms of red rain and other marks but we managed .
Anyhow our guardian put us on to a local chap who as working on a boat opposite.
Sure enough the Sunberella Silvertex is what he recommended .He even solved the colour conundrum by choosing a silver grey ( brought some samples ) The PVC option was outdated it seemed .
Glad we did it .Was a bit anxious re stains etc moving away from plastic but it seems fine easy cleans and drys etc and adds a bit the material feel thingy . I guess it’s a case of reasoned upgrades dragging the thing into the 21 st C .
Aside all the new FG boats are material inc Itama , Riva etc nobody’s doing plastic theses days in high end boats .








The silver grey worked well with the general whiteness of the topsides .We had a new Bimini ( + the rest of the covers ) in dark blue to match the hull done as well
We did not want anything too dark as the Med sun burns your skin .Tried sitting on a dark blue cloth once at a boat show and had to shuffle around .Also it would too blue the whole thing along with the hull + Bimini.

 

[jfm]

...
Sure enough the Sunberella Silvertex is what he recommended .He even solved the colour conundrum by choosing a silver grey ( brought some samples ) ...

Aside all the new FG boats are material inc Itama , Riva etc nobody’s doing plastic theses days in high end boats .

A few thoughts @SC35 :
1. another vote from me for Silvertex. It is made by Spradling not Sunbrella, and is one of a range of textured vinyls they make, that have a sort of cloth-like feel. The others include "carbon fibre" and "hitch", all listed here, but imho Silvertex is the best. I have just specified it on 2 new boats and one refit of an older boat.

2. Another high end vinyl is Rancati Morbern Sundance. Not a great website but very impressive/high quality material when you see it for real. Used OEM by Sanlorenzo and Riva, but not easy to get in UK

3. Plenty of high end boats, FG and others, still use vinyl not cloth material outside, including Riva.

4. Each to their own but I would avoid plain slabby sheets of the stuff like in Portofino's pictures above. It will ripple and looks bland, plus the vinyl cover will "roll around" the foam insides during ordinary use, so the foam and vinyl become misaligned. I suggest you make a sausage under the knee like in DavidJ's/ Tico's/Greg2's pictures in #2, #14 and#16 above, and/or introduce piping and welded patterns - picture below is my tender done in Silvertex pre-welded into diamonds, with sausages, piping and some plan/flat pieces, all mixed up together.

 

[SC35]

Hmm, thanks for the input.
By default, an Sc35 has large flat areas, apart from the helm position.

 

[jfm]

Yup, I see - I just looked at SC35 standard upholstery on line. If you are re-doing it, then I'd suggest take the opportunity to improve it and introduce anti-sag sausages, diamond/square/whatever welds/stitches, anti-bland features, whatever.