what are the latest trends or products for upholstery???
 

Colors, materials, etc......

Alcantara?

yeah ive seen that alot also, but i dont know how it would hold up to the elements.

i really think for resale, and to keep it simple, the pearl white carbon fiber is hard to beat.

Yep, I got the CF vinyl samples in the mail the other day...trying to make decisions on the cockpit redo and the "cabin addition" of my 24.

I do know a LOT of European Boat companies are using Alcantara for cabins and such (mostly walls and headliners)..and I see a lot of it in some of the Outerlimits sitdown type boat cockpits too, even the "open ones".

I know the Alcantara is washable...not sure how the sunlight and stuff in the air affects it outside. Although, I see it for automotive dashboards etc and even with the "magnifier" effect of an automotive windshield in the sunlight all day every day, it seems to be OK.

Time for more research..... I would like to use Alcantara on the dash of the boat, if for no other reason than the lack of "glare".

Thanks for starting this topic, I would be interested in hearing others experiences.

Cheers,

Dave

one of the biggest problems with boat interiors IMO is not the sunlight because if the boat is kept with a cover on it, the interior maybe sees a couple hours of sunlight a weekend. The biggest problem I have seen is oil or sunscreen as it just bakes right into the seats.

Yeah, the thought about oily a$$es did cross my mind :-)

But, I recall seeing a brand new Active Thunder(??) pic recently that showed stains in the "new" Carbon Fiber Vinyl from sunscreen too...IIRC the stains would not come out and they were going to have to replace the vinyl...WTF???

I recall the boat was electric blue?? Will see if I can find it.

What is Alcantara?

http://www.alcantara.com

"Innovative, luxury material that combines aesthetic, elegance and functional values in various fields: automotive, fashion, furniture, interior and yacht."

From wiki:

"Alcantara is a tradename given to a composite material used to cover surfaces and forms in a variety of applications. The material was developed in the early 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical company Toray Industries, as a variation of their other product Ultrasuede produced around the same time.[1] Around 1972, a joint venture between Italian chemical company ENI and Toray formed Alcantara SpA in order to manufacture and distribute the material.[2][3]

Alcantara is created via the combination of an advanced spinning process (producing very low denier bi-component "islands in the sea" fibre) and chemical and textile production processes (needle punching, buffing, impregnation, extraction, finishing, dyeing, etc.) which interact with each other.

Alcantara has applications including furniture,[5] clothing, jewelry, helmets and automotive (such as in seating, dash trimming and headliners in many high-end OEM automotive suppliers). Alcantara is being used currently as a flame retardant driver seat covering material for Formula One race cars, including the Williams Formula One 2011 FW33 car.[6]

...or you can Google it :-)

Without touching it I can't say for sure...but the black "fabric" on these OL rear seats looks to be Alcantara..

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/a...58832846-4.jpg

On the steering wheel in this pic and I think the trim around the windshield??

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/a...63908782-4.jpg

Dave

Dave you are correct as that's my rear seat. Adam in my opinion Carbon fiber look interior is dated. Go with some nice non carbon vinyl and some outdoor suede. I love the Alcantara.