How much does re-upholstery cost?

[SimonX]

We aren't actively out looking at boats at the moment but still browsing sites and getting alerts from brokers. One came up this morning and the good lady said, "oh, no, that would have to go" when she saw the interior. The upholstery was pale/dusky pink. Now I would always chose something very neutral for upholstery (cream, mushroom, grey) whereas she like brighter colours. Our Bayliner had cream
Bearing in mind most of the boats we are considering are 20-25 years old, its pretty likely they will need reupholstered or will have been done. OF those that have been done, most people seem to have gone for my approach and used cream or grey faux leather.
How much would is cost to do this sort of thing? Taking about a Broom 42 or similar, around 12 seating positions
Pics for info of a different boat, not the one I'm talking about.
The other thing that jarred for her on another boat that we did look at is that the worktop and sink in the heads were dark blue and had discoloured and showed scratches really badly. How expensive is it to have these redone?
Any strong opinions on blinds vs curtains?

 

[PlanB]

I like to see out of the windows, so curtains which close is my choice.
Our Princess 435 saloon was reupholstered in about 2010 in some sort of cream faux leather, incl helm seat - I think it was about 1500 euros.
I wouldn't have liked to replace the counter and basin in either head, very curvy and possibly expensive. Mind you, the cheap corian type things weren't available when we bought her in 2002.
Call me shallow, but I rejected boats that needed too much cosmetic refurbishment done from the start. Carpet and curtains was enough.

 

[rafiki_]

On my previous Azimut 39, when we bought her, the saloon seating was a loud and not pleasant velour. We changed it to decent leather, and new carpets throughout. This was back in 2014, and I think we paid about £4000 for the whole job. It still looked new when we sold her in 2020.

 

[PaulRainbow]

On my previous Azimut 39, when we bought her, the saloon seating was a loud and not pleasant velour. We changed it to decent leather, and new carpets throughout. This was back in 2014, and I think we paid about £4000 for the whole job. It still looked new when we sold her in 2020.

Probably cost £10K now ??

 

[Tranona]

How long is a piece of string. It is a labour intensive job and the sort of seating in your photos with all those curves and bolsters is very labour intensive. Add leather or expensive fabric like Alcantara and cost shoots up. The 12 simple essentially square cushions with piping and medium cost fabric with new foam coast under £2k in 2022. For the sort of boat you are looking at Paul's £10k would be the sort of order of things.

 

[Greg2]

I think £10k would be extraordinarily expensive notwithstanding the described complexity of the job but I guess it will depend on what is required and in rafiki’s case it also included carpets.

If new foam is necessary then that will certainly have an impact but having had ours done by a ‘normal’ (i.e. not inflated marine prices) upholstery outfit in recent years it can be surprisingly reasonable from a cost perspective. As an illustration we paid a marine supplier to re-upholster a new KAB seat for our boat and it was eye weatheringly expensive. When it turned up we hated the colour (schoolboy error of judging the colour by what we saw online as opposed to getting a sample) but the aforementioned upholsterer re-did it for a whole lot less than the original supplier - so much cheaper that we could live with paying for it twice! Full disclosure, he was a mate but nonetheless his pricing was way more reasonable than marine outfits.

 

[SimonX]

Thanks all, I had an idea it would be between £5k and 10k. Ive had cars seats recovered at around £400 each so 12x that plus a bit. In this case it certainly wouldn't t be worth it as the boat is priced the same as a slightly newer one with good seats. That boat seems absolutely perfect for us, just a pity we're not in a position to buy right away.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I think £10k would be extraordinarily expensive notwithstanding the described complexity of the job but I guess it will depend on what is required and in rafiki’s case it also included carpets.

If new foam is necessary then that will certainly have an impact but having had ours done by a ‘normal’ (i.e. not inflated marine prices) upholstery outfit in recent years it can be surprisingly reasonable from a cost perspective. As an illustration we paid a marine supplier to re-upholster a new KAB seat for our boat and it was eye weatheringly expensive. When it turned up we hated the colour (schoolboy error of judging the colour by what we saw online as opposed to getting a sample) but the aforementioned upholsterer re-did it for a whole lot less than the original supplier - so much cheaper that we could live with paying for it twice! Full disclosure, he was a mate but nonetheless his pricing was way more reasonable than marine outfits.

Just had our flybridge seating replaced, 5 simple, oblong, cushions and a 5" diameter backrest for the helm seat. Cost just over £1700, non-marine person. Most of that was material cost, £700 for the foam alone. Just ordered the foam, with stockinette covering, so Mrs can cover for guest cabin mattresses, £300 for two small singles.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks all, I had an idea it would be between £5k and 10k. Ive had cars seats recovered at around £400 each so 12x that plus a bit. In this case it certainly wouldn't t be worth it as the boat is priced the same as a slightly newer one with good seats. That boat seems absolutely perfect for us, just a pity we're not in a position to buy right away.

If you're looking at a boat that needs, for example, £10K spending on it, for whatever reason, knock that off of the asking price, at least.

 

[Little Ricky]

If you go to a marine upholsterer, you'll have to re mortgage your house, you can get a high quality sofa upholsterer to make the pattern from the foam seating and you can choose the appropriate fabric for your boat.

 

[SimonX]

If you're looking at a boat that needs, for example, £10K spending on it, for whatever reason, knock that off of the asking price, at least.

There you get into the difference between “needs doing” and “ wants to do”. We haven’t actually visited the boat to see if they are worn. I suspect they have been redone at some point, just not to my wife’s taste. Like the one we saw in Amsterdam had been done in a red/gold chintz which my wife loved but I can see others hating.
Eye of the beholder and all that!
As an aside, we had a Regency chaise longue at the shop recently which I thought was hideous but she thought was worth putting up to a London auction. Fetched £6500

 

[Dino]

I doubt you will need to replace the foam as Broom used good materials. I got my Broom 38 fully reupholstered over the last three years. I didn’t use a marine upholsterer, I just went to a local furniture maker/upholsterer. He had lots of nice samples and we picked a nice neutral grey with a light pattern.
I removed all the seats and brought them to him. Most of the Broom seats just lift out. Just be careful that some upholsterers will put new fabric over the old fabric, especially in curved areas or intricate shapes. The tolerances are fairly tight so ensure that they don’t overcover. Others they might be difficult to fit.

 

[Cathy*]

We aren't actively out looking at boats at the moment but still browsing sites and getting alerts from brokers. One came up this morning and the good lady said, "oh, no, that would have to go" when she saw the interior. The upholstery was pale/dusky pink. Now I would always chose something very neutral for upholstery (cream, mushroom, grey) whereas she like brighter colours. Our Bayliner had cream
Bearing in mind most of the boats we are considering are 20-25 years old, its pretty likely they will need reupholstered or will have been done. OF those that have been done, most people seem to have gone for my approach and used cream or grey faux leather.
How much would is cost to do this sort of thing? Taking about a Broom 42 or similar, around 12 seating positions
Pics for info of a different boat, not the one I'm talking about.
The other thing that jarred for her on another boat that we did look at is that the worktop and sink in the heads were dark blue and had discoloured and showed scratches really badly. How expensive is it to have these redone?
Any strong opinions on blinds vs curtains?

We had our Atlantic 38 reupholstered, almost identical to the Broom. They used 32 metres of fabric plus buttons and piping. Fabric prices varied greatly. We also replaced the foam. The labour was about half of the bill. So I would think price your fabric and you'd get a ballpark figure.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I think £10k would be extraordinarily expensive notwithstanding the described complexity of the job but I guess it will depend on what is required and in rafiki’s case it also included carpets.

If new foam is necessary then that will certainly have an impact but having had ours done by a ‘normal’ (i.e. not inflated marine prices) upholstery outfit in recent years it can be surprisingly reasonable from a cost perspective. As an illustration we paid a marine supplier to re-upholster a new KAB seat for our boat and it was eye weatheringly expensive. When it turned up we hated the colour (schoolboy error of judging the colour by what we saw online as opposed to getting a sample) but the aforementioned upholsterer re-did it for a whole lot less than the original supplier - so much cheaper that we could live with paying for it twice! Full disclosure, he was a mate but nonetheless his pricing was way more reasonable than marine outfits.

Just had two quotes to replace 3 sofa base cushions, 1.4m x 0.7m, including new foam. Fabric cost is £180.

"Marine" company £3500

Local upholstery company £1500

 

[SimonX]

Thanks for the replies. spoke to a guy at a car show a couple of weeks back who does classic cars but whose bread and butter work is taxis and minibuses. He said around £5k for "vegan" leather or cloth.
As aI said before , its really just for info if we do find a boat that needs or we want to redo.
At the moment we are concentrating on our various health issues and will look seriously in a couple of months.

 

[Mr Googler]

Dont always jump to having to replace. If the material is in good condition, colour changing is a good option to suit your tastes. Fabric, leather and vinyl can all be dyed

 

[jon and michie]

get quotes from an upholstery companies that repair sofa's the price can be more competitive vs a "Boat or Car Specialist"