Company:
Chicago Marine Canvas

Project Details

Fabric 1

Capitano Foam Backed
Producer: Nautolex
Supplier: Reliatex

Fabric 2

Tradewinds and Armada Vinyl
Producer: Endurasoft
Supplier: Miami Corp



Please describe the project specifications

This 32 Outlaw arrived in horrible shape after being abandoned in a Missouri barn for 5 years. The new owner remembered witnessing it win multiple trophies running across Lake of the Ozarks and wanted to return it to it's original glory.


What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

We were tasked with replacing the entire cockpit upholstery which consisted of an engine hatch, aft bench, side panels and twin bucket chairs. The customer wanted to reupholster everything exactly the same, recreating the original organic wave design and vinyl colors too.


What is unique or complex about the project?

Upon removing some of the pieces we uncovered that the majority of the existing framing needed to be replaced along with the foam. We also needed to re-fiberglass some of the engine hatch for support which would ultimately be covered by the upholstery.

It was crucial to make the design flow and match up the lines perfectly across multiple upholstered pieces. Although we used white foam backed vinyl, we decided to stitch in 1/4" foam to the various colored vinyl pieces across each patterned piece before stitching everything together to achieve consistency in look and feel. Detailed double needle stitching and top stitching was common across the project along with some piping.

Another challenging piece of this project was to work around everyone else who was working on the boat. The boat required new engines, electrical, misc fiberglass work - you name it! We were also tasked with replacing the interior but that's a story for another award.


What were the results of the project?

The project turned out fantastic and the customer could not be happier! Once the new engines were tuned this boat was back to turning heads on the lake, time to win another trophy!


Content is submitted by the participant. IFAI is not responsible for the content descriptions of the IAA award winners.