Re: Sunbrella marine grade fabric?
Sunbrella and Dickson marine fabrics are good for tops and covers, but I would shy away from the upholstery part. There are some manufacturers that offer that as an option, but having been in the upholstery business for 18 years now, I can tell you that it never holds up.
The sunbrella is much stiffer to sit on and won't soften up until it loses it's water repellancy. Once it loses that, it allows water to get into the foam and underlying base material. Now, if you never, ever, ever get the interior of your boat wet, go for it. You won't have to worry about the water, but we can deal with the food and suntan lotion stains at a later time.
If it's patterns that you want. go to a local upholstery shop. They can provide you with literally hundreds of vinyl samples that are patterned with everything from stripes to plaids to paisley, to multi-color paint splatter. Vinyls aren't just solids anymore. I have samples from neon colors to animal prints to reptile hide patterns. It's not just white any longer.
