Boat Upholstery in Fort Lauderdale, Done at Your Slip
Fort Lauderdale has more boat than anywhere else in the country, and more shops chasing it. What is actually scarce is a shop that will take the whole boat, work around a yard schedule, and give you a date it will hold.
We are 25 miles north in Delray Beach, which is close enough that there is no travel day priced into your quote and far enough that we are not competing for bench space with every refit in Broward County. We measure and install at your slip or in the yard, and the fabrication happens in our shop.
Fifty-two years of marine canvas and upholstery, and a large share of it on boats that live between Miami and Stuart.
Yards and marinas we come to
The work splits cleanly by where the boat is sitting.
In a yard, mid-refit. Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center's 65-acre yard is where most of our larger Fort Lauderdale work happens, because the boat is already out and other trades are already aboard. If you are in a refit period, upholstery is one of the easiest items to run in parallel with everything else: we measure once, take the cushions away, and bring them back finished.
In a slip. Bahia Mar, Pier Sixty-Six, Las Olas Marina and the New River docks. Here the boat stays in the water and only the soft goods leave, so the owner loses no use of the vessel beyond the measuring visit and the install day.
On a trailer or a lift. Smaller center consoles often come to us in Delray instead, which is usually faster and cheaper than us coming to them.
A different mix from the rest of the coast
Fort Lauderdale skews larger and more international than Palm Beach or Miami, and that changes the work.
More of it is interior: salon settees, dinette cushions, berth mattresses, headliners and helm chairs rather than coaming bolsters and sun pads. More of it runs to a schedule that is not ours, because the boat is in a yard period with a hard end date and a captain managing twelve contractors. And more of it involves a specified fabric, because an owner's rep or an interior designer has already chosen the material.
All three are normal for us. We build to a specification handed down without arguing about it, we quote against a yard window rather than a vague lead time, and where nothing is specified we build in Sunbrella Horizon with PTFE thread as standard.
For vessels above the center console tier, the detail is on our Superyacht upholstery page.
What it costs and how fast you know
Full boat packages on a center console run roughly $7,000 to $15,000 for a 30 to 36 footer and $15,000 to $30,000 for a 38 to 45 with interior work. Yacht interiors are scoped per vessel.
You get a fixed price after we pattern the boat, not before, and the specification is written out in full: fabric, thread, foam, substrate, stitching and piece count. Deposit is 50% to schedule, balance on completion.
If you are working to a yard date, tell us at first contact. We would rather say honestly that a window is not achievable than accept it and miss it.
Full cost breakdown is on our full boat upholstery page.
Boat Upholstery Fort Lauderdale FAQ
Do you actually come to Fort Lauderdale or do I have to bring the boat to Delray?
We come to you. Measuring and patterning happen at your slip or in the yard, fabrication happens in our Delray Beach shop 25 miles north, and installation happens back at the boat. The vessel stays in the water throughout and only the cushions travel. Smaller center consoles on a trailer sometimes come to us instead, which is usually quicker, and we will tell you which makes more sense for your boat.
Do you charge extra to travel to Broward County?
No. Fort Lauderdale is inside our normal service area and there is no travel allowance on the quote. It is worth checking this when you compare, because a shop bidding your boat from Miami-Dade or from the Treasure Coast often does add one, and on a full package that is a real line item rather than a rounding error.
Can you work inside our yard period at Lauderdale Marine Center?
Yes, and that is how we prefer to scope larger Fort Lauderdale jobs. Upholstery runs in parallel with almost every other trade, because once we have patterned the boat the work happens off the vessel. Give us the window at first contact and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable before you commit, rather than agreeing to it and discovering otherwise halfway through.
Our designer has already specified the fabric. Can you use it?
Yes, and tell us early so we can source it and confirm lead time before you are committed to a date. We build in Sunbrella Horizon by default because it is the best marine upholstery material available, but where an owner, interior designer or management company has specified a house fabric, leather or textile, we build to that. What we do not do is substitute something similar without saying so.
How long does a full boat upholstery job take?
Two to five weeks in the shop for a full package, depending on piece count, with one measuring visit at the front and usually one day for installation on an exterior center console package. Interior refits on larger vessels take longer and are scoped per boat. You get the window in writing when you approve the quote.
Tell us where the boat is sitting
Give us the marina or the yard, the boat, and what needs doing. We will come measure and come back with a fixed price and a date.
Or call (561) 278-6521