Boats are special and luxurious, used for more than just fishing. Building the upholstery of the boat requires special consideration in order to ensure their prolonged life and to reduce the replacement costs. Boat owners now-a-days prefer vinyl flooring for building the upholsteries. This is a very popular contemporary fabric and many boat owners prefer to go for this due to the many benefits offered. As a boat owner who is thinking of incorporating this special vinyl into your project it is a must to develop a good understanding of the fabric.

What is vinyl flooring?

This is a special type of fabric that is made of vinyl material that qualifies the marine grade. Basically, it’s a layered fabric that consists of top layers of vinyl material and the bottom layers crafted out of knitted polyester. This special fabric is used for covering boat upholstery and boat furniture. The bottom polyester layer is responsible for the strength and durability that is imparted on this special type of fabric. This material is widely used for crafting boat upholstery as it matches all the requirements of the boat upholstery.

Properties of  vinyl flooring

Resilient toward liquids

This special type of vinyl fabric is great as it is resilient toward a lot of liquids. The boat upholstery is always subjected to moisture exposure be it fresh water or salt water. But marine grade vinyl being entirely waterproof protects the padding of the boat surface and boat furniture. Waterproofing the boat is one of its chief benefits. As marine grade vinyl is resilient to most solvents, it is resilient to bleaching as well. It is nearly impossible to fade the coloration of a vinyl flooring fabric. In other words, it is highly practical for the environment, too.

Highly affordable & durable

The marine grade vinyl is quite an affordable fabric. If you are investing in boat building projects, you must look out for cost effective options. As far as fabrics are concerned no other fabric can be more cost effective than the marine grade vinyl. It is a synthetic fabric that comes at a greatly affordable rate. This special fabric is highly durable. It can truly stand the test of time. It is a flexible material too, with stretching capabilities. The material can also withstand a lot of pressure as it is resistant to common wear and tear.

Resistant to UV

The marine grade vinyl is resistant to ultra violet radiation of sun. Thus, it is a great fabric option for building upholstery. It is highly resistant to scratches as well. Thus, it makes an outstanding upholstery fabric choice. This fabric remains unaltered to the most of climatic conditions and can withstand storms, snow, heavy rain and scorching sun. It is also one of the key benefits of this special grade vinyl.

Easy to clean

While other upholstery fabrics are difficult to clean and their maintenance is expensive, the marine grade vinyl is easier to maintain. And that by using inexpensive cleaning methods like the common soap and water.

The negative side of this special marine grade vinyl are as follows:

It is important to understand the drawbacks of the vinyl flooring as well. Sewing this fabric can be difficult as it tends to get stuck. Another key drawback is that sometimes it may look a little bit plastic.