Saloon Fabrics

[MarkJ]

Hi Folks

Just in case I was somewhere I could get the saloon seats recovered what would you recommend?

I don't know the price of leather but I am in an area where some things could be cheaper than home so may be affordable... (heres hoping!).
Any thoughts on leather, pseudo leather, modern synthetic leather substitutes, and the good old fabrics of marine grade.

Has anyone been through the dilemma and got some sage advce for me (and Nickers) please?


Thanks

Mark

[S&S]

Vinyl for the seats and sunbrella for the bunk pads. Worked well for us.

You'll not be happy with leather in that application.

[s/v Jedi]

Mark,

UltraSuede is what we like best and this of course is about the most expensive material out there. If you look for local versions, keep in mind that in Europe this stuff is called "Alcantara" so naming is wildly different.

My second choice would probably be (synthetic??) leather, but with our 3 cats aboard that's not a good idea. I often don't like the look of synthetic leather but if you use real leather it must be top quality or you end up with weak spots. Fabrics are too warm in the tropics and you get mold problems when not running an A/C often enough etc.

cheers,
Nick.

[Vasco]

The standard Beneteau upholstery was very poor. In our second year we replaced it with some type of faux leather, naugahyde, vinyl type of material. It is smooth rather than a suede like finish. Much more practical than the original cloth. These fabrics are mostly made in China so you should be able to get a good deal where you are.

[S&S]

Real leather would probably crack (or develop mold) in pretty short order.

Like the UltraSuede idea, but the kids spill too much stuff for a napped surface, so we went with good quality vinyl.

[witzgall]

For those with vinyl covered cushions, do you ever get used to the dreaded sticky back and theighs?

Chris

[Bash]

We have an all-leather saloon. If it's good leather, you shouldn't have problems. If it's cheap leather....

[S&S]

Originally Posted by witzgall

For those with vinyl covered cushions, do you ever get used to the dreaded sticky back and theighs?

Chris

Well, sometines you just have to suck it up. Real leather does the same thing though.

Hey Bash, how stain resistant is the saloon leather in your boat?

[CarlF]

+1 on Ultrasuede. I find all of the leathers (including the synthetics) get sticky in salt air -but many people use it happily. Ultrasuede also has the advantage of not being slippery (used in many sports car seats). Very stain and abrasion resistant. Cleans easily. There are several types that seem about the same to me - Milano, Ambiance , Alcantera (UK). Wonderful color range.

It's a Japanese company (Toray) so you might find good prices locally. There are also many imitators and probably some counterfeits. It's just hard to know which are good.

One thing I did to hold down costs was to use light weight sunbrella on the cushion undersides.

Be sure to use "furniture weight" sunbrella. The heavy material is really meant for covers. It has a lot of filler that breaks down after a while when used in cushions.

If the saloon seats are not primarily used as berths, consider making the cushions almost square and then put some dacron or other synthetic batting on top of the foam. This will give the cushion a bit of a rounded crown that looks and feels better. The smaller cushions are also easier to make and to move around.

Carl

[Bash]

Originally Posted by S&S

Hey Bash, how stain resistant is the saloon leather in your boat?

Our leather is white, and in two years we haven't spilled anything on it that didn't come up with a damp sponge. Including red wine, which for reasons I'd rather not get into seems to get spilled in our saloon somewhat regularly.

My experience is that the leather is more stain resistant that the fabric cushions we had in the previous boat.

We also have a white ultrasuede couch. Don't ask. Recently, while grading papers I had a pen explode. (They say I'm a tough grader.) Blue ink everywhere. Happy to report that we sprayed on some stain remover and it came right up. Curiously, it never came out of the khakies I was wearing, even after multiple washings.

The moral here is that one is grading papers on a white couch, one ought to be naked.

[s/v Jedi]

Ultrasuede is stain resistant as nicely demonstrated by Bash. It really is the ultimate because it feels like leather/suede and really looks like suede. I think Alcantara from Italy was the original one, nicely copied by the Japanese. It is used in all the Italian sports cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari etc. (seats, headliners) plus in fashion like jackets, even dresses etc.

Real leather can be stain resistant too, look at couches from Ralph Benz for example.

cheers,
Nick.

[S&S]

If it's relevant,Toray holds the trademark for UltraSuede. They are probably the originators. It's a fine product.

[barnakiel]

We used sort of acrylics with very fine finish - supplied by Doyle Sailmakers (they have a dodger/cushions department). Not cheap but great comfort (the fabric maker was called something like Warrick, or Warwick). And the choice of structures and colors was outstanding too.

b.

[forsailbyowner]

There are so many choices out there this thread could go on forever. I have the sample card of ultrasuede,very nice stuff. Synergy suede is also some very comfortable luxurious fabric, the laser is perforated and cooler than most. Ultraleather is worth checking out. Mellohide is another marine grade faux leather as well as the studio line. Natural leather would work in a climate controlled boat that spends most of the time air conditioned. I wouldn't recommend it for extended time in tropical humidity. It is a mold magnet. We spend most our time in high humidity levels and I've taken to keeping the leather I keep in stock in ziplocks.
Stitchen Steve
Magic Canvas

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by S&S

If it's relevant,Toray holds the trademark for UltraSuede. They are probably the originators. It's a fine product.

Ha ha, this is funny... the two are exactly the same material and Alcantara Spa in Italy is a joint venture of Toray and some Italian chemical company. The inventor was Miyoshi Okamoto who worked for Toray. It was the world's first micro-fiber product.

See:

Ultrasuede - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcantara_(material)

cheers,
Nick.