fabric choice for external seating.

[Phildorset]

Am wondering if I can get some comments / advice?
I am organising to have the external seating to the cockpit and flybridge recovered this winter and have been offered for this to be done in Spralding - Silvertex... the original material is a flat shiny vinyl, fashions change though and the softer feel modern fabrics do look and feel good. Has anyone here recently been through the same process and have any thoughts and experience on best fabric choice?
Thanks for any help on this. P

 

[DavidJ]

Yes I been through this and decided to go original which for me was white vinyl. The rather nice curves in the 2002 Sealine upholstery really didn’t match the minimalist modern fabric styling.

 

[Kendal]

I got my interior upholstery done in Silvertex. It is obviously not as soft as most interior furnishings but it is hard wearing and easy to keep clean, I just wipe it with a baby wipe. Here is a before and after. We don't spend much time down below but I am very happy with the result.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I did the cockpit on my Targa 40 in silvertex, and it was great. Still looked new three years later, and for me a much nicer fabric than the original white vinyl that it replaced.

 

[Swift28]

Yeah we had Silvertex on last boat, Targa 40 and was great , looks really modern , matt look , holds up well and still comfy , will be doing again soon on new boat

 

[Phildorset]

Thank you chaps - encouraging feedback so far, much appreciated.

 

[Eren]

I used it at our tender. It lost color at the first season. Replaced within warranty. I assume that the color loss was due to micron level seawater spray during cruise, followed by strong med sunlight. It looks nice and I am still happy with my choice but it is not as tough as the vinyl.

 

[Greg2]

We did our cockpit with Silevrtex pre-season this year and delighted with it. Much nicer than the original vinyl and it has transformed the cockpit of our S34.

 

[Hurricane]

Silvertex does seem to be the one everyone uses these days.
I believe that Princess call theirs Modiva which is probably Silvertex.

Another idea that people of this forum have used is Sunbrella Plus.
This is the fabric that is used for Bimini tops.
When used on external seats, Sunbrella Plus comes with a PVC backing that keeps the foam dry.

IMO, I still think Silvertex has that sticky feeling on the skin and Sunbrella Plus looks a bit like canvas covered seating so last year, we opted for a different approach.

This year we chose the Sunbrella range of fabrics designed for seating - the Natte range in fact.
This fabric is soft to sit on but not waterproof.
So, we contacted the UK Sunbrella distributer and found that they can apply a PVC coating to back of their cushion fabrics.
Then got Martin at MJ Boats to recover all our cushions.
Martin is well known on this forum for his good work in seat recovering.

I have written an article on this subject for MBY which may be in the next issue.
In the meantime here are a couple of pics of our flybridge cushions:-

 

[jrudge]

I looked at the waterproof fabric type cloth as well.

I liked it but a well known dealer told me in his view it would not last. Not saying it wont, merely passing on what I was told. I think it looks a cut above.

I took their advise to heart and have Modiva Beige which is a finely ribbed vinyl fabric. I dont find it sticky as I assume the ribs in it let it breathe to some extent against your skin. MJ did mine also and give it was about £3k for a complete set on a S58 ( bow / fly / cockpit ) I probably should have gone for the fabric type as if it needed replacing in 5 years it is still decent value.

 

[Eren]

Dear Hurricane,

I am also planning for your Sunbrella solution to have a more ‘homelike’ feeling at the outer spaces. I also see that this type of textile is more and more used by Azimut, San Lorenzo, Princess at the new yachts. So the trend was vinyl, then Silvertex and now these fabric-like solutions. I also like it a lot but I worry about the maintenance. As the fabric you chose is more textured than the Silvertex, I worry that salt particles may go inbetween the fibres and can be diffucult to clean or to keep clean. What are your experiences with the usage of this fabric?

 

[Andrew M]

We're in this process as well, currently favouring Spradling Diamonte Vintage, although the even softer/cloth style fabrics are also appealing.

 

[DREAMERTR]

I am in the same decision process and one more brand thrown as option was Serge Ferrari. They have a vinyl but soft touch type Stamskin and fabric like Batyline Eden WP. I never saw any options live yet but did some search and looks like more textured new fabric like vinyls pick up dirt, sand, salt quite easily and more difficult to clean due to texture.

So I am down to either vinyl with more plain look and Stamskin One or Spradling Zander could be option. If textured for more modern looks, Silvertex looks like a winner.

Boat is a Sealine F42/5 with classic design seats.

What has been the experiences since last post?

Anyone who can compare actually seeing Spradling and Serge Ferrari vinyls?