best boat seat materials?

[skegfish]

Hiall,
Putting together some new boat seats for my brother. (I'm no expert, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night!)
What do you folks suggest for the materials? Will vinyl hold up better than a exterior furniture grade materials. ( this is a small boat )
What brand is popular?
Any input will help with my quest!
Thanks,  jeffinPA

[Mike]

( this is a small boat )
What brand is popular?

Bayliner?

id use a good quality marine grade vinyl

[ahkahn]

For sure...  vinyl is much stronger and will hold up better than just about any other fabric.

-Andrew

[baileyuph]

A good choice, and probably the best would be a good branded marine vinyl, there are more than one.

Question for Andrew:  The Sunbrella boat covering acrylics, I believe they are, seem to last longer against the weather better than vinyl, but are there sunbrella products tailored for boat seats that would outlast vinyl?  There are Sunbrella fabrics being favored for patio, inside and outside, do you learn that these could also be successfully used for boat seats and hold up longer than vinyl?

I would think Sunbrella would be more expensive than marine vinyl, in general, but don't know?

It might be harder to work with, maybe someone has tried it?


Doyle

[ahkahn]

Hi Doyle,

I'm not so sure that Sunbrella boat covering would ever outlast vinyl...  Vinyl has a superior UV lifetime and it has better abrasion.  Are you referring to a non-expanded vinyl coated fabric (like Herculite)?  I'm talking about an expanded upholstery vinyl.

You can certainly use acrylic fabric (Subrella, Recacril, Outdura, etc) for any seating applications.  The only difference between the acrylic seating fabrics and the acrylic marine/awning fabrics is the designs/colors.  There is no functional or construction differences between them.  That said, spec for spec, vinyl should fall either comparable or better than acrylic fabrics.

Most marine vinyls carry at least 100,000 double rubs.  Acrylics are typically in the 12,000-35,000 range.  Also, as far as upholstering an acrylic versus a vinyl keep in mind that the acrylic fabrics are designed purposely to have 0% stretch, whereas vinyls are designed to have more stretch.  That may make it more difficult to upholster an acrylic.

Bottom line is that as far as durability goes for marine seating, my money is on vinyl over acrylic fabric.  Could you use acrylic for boat seating applications - most definitely. 

I hope that helps-

-Andrew