Full Boat Upholstery, Done as One Project
Most upholstery shops will recover one seat for you. Fewer will take the whole boat, strip it, pattern it, and hand it back finished in one continuous run. That is the work we are built for, and it is the work we want.
A full boat package means every upholstered surface gets addressed at the same time, to the same standard, in the same materials, by the same crew. You get one mobilization instead of five, one pattern session, one color decision, and a boat that looks deliberate rather than accumulated. The alternative, doing it a piece at a time over three seasons, is how boats end up with four slightly different shades of white vinyl and a helm seat that does not match anything around it.
We have been building marine canvas and upholstery in Delray Beach since 1974. We work on center consoles, sportfishing boats, express cruisers, motor yachts and Superyachts, and our shop runs 3D measurement, digital patterning and CNC cutting alongside hand finishing.
Everything that gets sat on, leaned against or slept on
A full boat upholstery project is scoped surface by surface, not seat by seat. On a typical center console that means:
- Helm seating. Leaning post, backrest, armrests, the flip-up bolster, and the tackle-station cushion behind it.
- Bolsters. Forward and side coaming bolsters, the highest-wear soft surface on the boat and usually the first thing to go.
- Bow seating and filler cushions. Forward lounge, backrests, the insert that turns the bow into a sun pad.
- Console seat and cooler cushion. Including the forward-facing console lounge on larger hulls.
- Aft bench and jump seats. Fold-downs, transom seating, the mezzanine on a sportfish.
- Sun pads. Bow and aft, including the substrate underneath if it has taken on water.
On a cruiser, sportfish or motor yacht we add interior work: salon seating and settees, dinette cushions, berth and V-berth mattresses, headliners and hull-side panels, helm chairs, and flybridge seating.
The scope conversation is the first one we have, and it is where the money is decided. We would rather talk you out of redoing something that has two good seasons left than pad the number.
Real numbers, so you know before you call
Nobody in this business publishes prices, which makes it impossible to plan a refit. Here is roughly where projects land. Every one of these is a fixed price written out in full before you approve it, and none of them is a range we widen later.
- Partial package, 24 to 28 ft center console. Leaning post, backrest and forward bolsters. Typically $3,500 to $6,500.
- Full deck package, 30 to 36 ft center console. All exterior seating, bolsters, bow and aft sun pads. Typically $7,000 to $15,000.
- Large center console, 38 to 45 ft. Full exterior plus console interior and any berth cushions. Typically $15,000 to $30,000.
- Sportfish or motor yacht, full interior and exterior. Salon, dinette, berths, headliners, flybridge and cockpit. $30,000 and up, scoped per vessel.
What moves a number inside those ranges: how many linear feet of bolster the boat carries, whether substrates and foam are reusable or have to be rebuilt, whether you want stitching detail beyond a standard seam, and whether the work happens in our shop or dockside at your slip.
What does not move it: us discovering something halfway through. We pattern before we quote.
Four steps, and you know the date at step two
1. Photos and a conversation. Send photos of every seating surface and tell us the boat, the length and what is bothering you. Ten minutes on the phone usually settles scope. We will tell you honestly if a repair beats a replacement. 2. Onboard measurement and patterning. We come to the boat. Every piece is measured and patterned in place, digitally, so the finished cushion fits the hull rather than approximately fitting it. You get the fixed-price quote after this step, not before. 3. Fabrication in the shop. CNC cutting, foam specification, sewing, and finishing. Full boat packages run roughly two to five weeks in the shop depending on piece count, and we give you the window in writing. 4. Installation. In our shop or dockside at your marina. Exterior packages on a center console are usually a single day.
Deposit is 50% to schedule the build, balance on completion. That is the same on every project regardless of size.
Sunbrella Horizon and PTFE thread, as standard
Faces: Sunbrella Horizon. It is our default on new upholstery work and it is the best marine upholstery material money can buy. We specify it unless you are matching a dealer or OEM fabric the builder wants carried through, in which case we source that instead. We do not keep a cheap tier to hit a number with.
Thread: PTFE, on everything. Ordinary polyester thread fails from UV before the fabric it is holding together does, which is why so much marine upholstery comes apart at the seams while the faces still look fine. PTFE outlasts the fabric. It costs more and it is not optional on our work.
Foam: closed-cell and quick-dry on exterior seating, so water passes through the cushion rather than sitting in it, with vented and drained bases underneath. Interior cushions and berth mattresses use a different specification tuned for comfort rather than drainage.
Most owners choose a colour and assume that is the decision. The foam under the fabric determines whether the seat is still comfortable in year four, and the thread determines whether the seams outlive the boat. We will also colour match to the canvas already on your boat so the new work does not announce itself.
Where we will push back is on scope, not on materials. A boat that lives under cover in a rack does not need every surface redone at once, and we would rather talk you out of a piece that has two good seasons left than pad the number.
Center console upholstery, by builder
We do this work on nearly everything, but these are the hulls we see most and know best. Each page covers that builder's actual deck layout and what a full package looks like on it.
- Valhalla boat upholstery
- Yellowfin boat upholstery
- Contender boat upholstery
- Jupiter boat upholstery
- Grady-White boat upholstery
- Sportsman boat upholstery
- Sea Hunt boat upholstery
- Cobia boat upholstery
- Midnight Express boat upholstery
Above the center console tier we handle full interior refits on sportfishing boats and motor yachts, and Superyacht upholstery on vessels working to a yard window.
Delray Beach, and the coast either side of it
Our shop is in Delray Beach at 2275 S Federal Hwy. We regularly work the corridor from Miami to Stuart: Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Jupiter and the Treasure Coast, and the two metros where most of the work sits, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County.
Boats come to us, or we come to the boat. For full packages on larger vessels we do the measuring and the installation dockside at your marina or yacht club and the fabrication in our shop, which is the arrangement that costs you the least time out of the water.
Recent full boat upholstery work
Full Boat Upholstery FAQ
How much does it cost to reupholster a boat?
For a full exterior package on a 30 to 36 ft center console, expect roughly $7,000 to $15,000. A smaller partial package covering the leaning post and forward bolsters on a 24 to 28 ft boat generally runs $3,500 to $6,500, and a 38 to 45 ft center console with interior work included runs $15,000 to $30,000. Sportfish and motor yacht interiors start around $30,000 and are scoped per vessel. The variables that move the number are linear feet of bolster, whether foam and substrates can be reused, and stitching detail. We quote a fixed price after patterning the boat, not before.
How long does full boat upholstery take?
Two to five weeks in the shop for a full package, depending on how many pieces the boat carries. Measuring is one visit, installation is usually one day for an exterior center console package and longer for an interior refit. You get the window in writing when you approve the quote. The boat stays in the water for most of it, since only the cushions leave.
Should I repair my boat seats or replace them?
Repair makes sense when the foam is sound, the substrate is dry, and the problem is one seam or one panel. Replace when the foam has taken on water and stays damp, when the vinyl has gone chalky or brittle across multiple surfaces, or when you are already planning to redo two or three pieces. Past about three pieces the piecemeal approach costs more than doing the boat at once, because you pay for the measuring visit and the color matching every single time. We will tell you which side of that line you are on.
Do you work on the boat or do I have to bring it in?
Either. We measure and install dockside at marinas throughout South Florida, and the fabrication happens in our Delray Beach shop regardless. Dockside is standard on larger vessels and on any boat where hauling is more disruption than the job is worth. Smaller center consoles often come to us on the trailer.
Can you match the upholstery to the canvas already on my boat?
Yes, and it is worth doing. We build both canvas and upholstery in the same shop, so we can color match new seating to an existing Sunshade, bimini or enclosure rather than getting close. If the canvas is also aging, doing both at once is cheaper than doing them a year apart and gives you a boat that reads as one piece.
What fabric do you use for boat upholstery?
Sunbrella Horizon is our standard on new upholstery work. It is the best marine upholstery material available and it is what we specify unless you are matching a dealer or OEM fabric the builder wants carried through, in which case we source that instead. We sew everything with PTFE thread rather than polyester, because polyester thread degrades from UV faster than the fabric it holds together, which is why so much marine upholstery fails at the seams while the faces still look serviceable. Interiors also run leathers and designer textiles where the job calls for it.
What foam do you use for boat seats?
Closed-cell quick-dry marine foam on exterior seating, so water drains through the cushion instead of being held in it, with vented and drained bases underneath. Interior cushions and berth mattresses use a different specification tuned for comfort rather than drainage. Foam choice is the single biggest factor in how a seat feels in year four, and it is where cheap upholstery work is usually cheap.
Do you do full interior refits on yachts and sportfish boats?
Yes. Salon seating and settees, dinette cushions, berth and V-berth mattresses, headliners and hull-side panels, helm chairs, flybridge and cockpit seating. These are scoped per vessel and generally start around $30,000. We have been doing marine interiors since 1974 and run 3D measurement and digital patterning, which matters more on a yacht interior than anywhere else because the compound curves are unforgiving.
What deposit do you require?
50% to schedule the build, balance on completion. Same on every project regardless of size.
Send us photos of the boat
Tell us the make, the length and what needs doing. We will come measure, and you will get a fixed price with the full specification written out before anything starts.
Or call (561) 278-6521