Carver Owners Forum

After I priced with Carver, I checked with a guy local to me that has an upholstery shop, does marine grade work and has been really reasonable with cash work I have brought him. I showed him the pads from my Carver parts manual and he told me the price Carver had was about right for him to make them for what its worth,,,

I would say $1000 custom made for the pair is about the going price. I am sure you may be able to get it done a little cheaper however there is the workmanship not to mention the materials used. There is quite a difference in pricing within "marine grade" stuff.

As for a few words regarding sun pads. They are nice but do need to be made properly. They must have a quality mesh on the underside so they can breath. The foam needs to be encased in a resistant soft plastic so it does not get wet. Never leave the pads in place when you leave the boat during the week otherwise they will damage the gelcoat over time not to mention they will become disgusting and rot away in a few years if you don't. I learned this through trial and error/experiance over many years. The last set I had was 10 years old, still looked like new however they were always brought into the cockpit every time we left the marina. I do not have any on the Carver and do not want any. Too much maintenance but mainly because as we get up in age we tend to not sit in the sun 24/7 like we used to. Much prefer the shade

As for a template, forget it, not going to happen no matter how detailed you are when it comes to positioning the snaps. I suggest you purchase a snap gun and install the snaps yourself if you cannot get your guy to come to the boat. I learned a long time ago it comes in handy many a times.