Fabric Selection for Your Boat Top

For more up-to-date information about the fabrics SewLong uses, visit our blog, How Water Proof Are Boat Fabrics? We test each of our fabrics to find out which suits your needs best!

When the time comes to replace the canvas top for you, whether it’s a traditional three-bow bimini top, an attached bimini on a cruiser, or an oversized top on a houseboat, we’ve got options for you. Before you decide to go with Sunbrella, the most popular choice, we encourage you to look at a few other options that might also work for you. There are a few essential questions to ask while searching for your next top, so be sure you’re considering a few things.

Are you mainly looking for shade (wally, ski, or small fishing boats) or overall protection from the elements (larger cruisers, sailboats, or houseboats)?
The two leading fabric manufacturers we recommend for any top are Sunbrella and Ferrari Stamoid. Many other fabrics are on the market, but these are the two most recommended in our shop.

Sunbrella

Sunbrella has a couple of downsides, the first being its issues with lighter colors. From our experience, the lighter shades don’t last as long. They’re also more challenging to keep clean-white fabrics than any other. On the flip side, however, Sunbrella’s darker colors seem to outlast most other fabrics.
One of the most common misconceptions about Sunbrella is that it’s waterproof when it’s just water-repellent. Sunbrella Plus and Sunbrella Supreme are some bonafide waterproof options, but the fabric itself isn’t the waterproof part. The protection comes from the undercoating on the Plus and the bonded soft headliner fabric for the Supreme. We love Sunbrella Supreme, and with its soft headliner, you can get a black top with a linen interior that will make a big difference in the look and feel of your boat. It’s our preferred and recommended option if you’re leaning towards Sunbrella.
Some of the other upsides are the life expectancy and easy maintenance. Sunbrella comes with a 10-year warranty, and you should have no trouble keeping it looking great. A line of 303 cleaning and care products can help extend the water repellency and UV life. There is already a broad color pallet with new colors and patterns being added each year. Regular Sunbrella is also the most economical option for these fabrics (Sunbrella Plus and Premium both tend to run about 20-50% more).

Serge Ferrari Stamoid

The major downside to Ferrari Stamoid is the price increase, which puts it closer in range to the Sunbrella Supreme. The color options are also much more limited, aside from the standard marine colors and a few bi-colored choices (color on the outside and white on the inside). There’s also a much shorter warranty of 5 years (7 on the silicone options).
On the upside, Ferrari Stamoid is coated in polyester, which makes it genuinely waterproof everywhere we haven’t sewn. It’s also weldable, so we don’t have to sew large pieces together while making an oversized top for a houseboat. It’s also a remarkably UV, dirt, and mold-resistant material. There are four different shades of white to match your gel coat best, and its smooth coating keeps it very clean. There’s also a silicone coating option, which keeps it from getting dirty, and its unique flexibility makes storage very easy. With all that we’ve seen and our experience with its life expectancy, Ferrari Stamoid is just about as good as Sunbrella.

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SewLong is the gold standard for boat covers and biminis for your tournament tow boat. We deliver craftsmanship and value with every product.

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