Nothing on a boat takes a beating like open-cockpit seating. Powerboat and RIB seats live entirely outdoors: soaked by spray on every run, slammed by the hull through chop, baked by sun reflecting off the water, and then left under a cover to sweat all winter. It's why the seats are so often the first thing to let a well-kept boat down, and why retrimming them properly is one of the most satisfying jobs we do at our Wirral workshop, a short hop from the Mersey marinas. The wider service is covered on our marine upholstery hub; this page is about fast, open boats specifically.
What we retrim and rebuild
- Bolster seats: the classic sportsboat flip-up helm seat, retrimmed with the bolster hinge and shape preserved so you can still stand and lean at speed
- Helm and companion seats: buckets, back-to-backs and bench seats, patterned from your originals for an exact fit
- Jockey seats: the hardest-worked seat on any RIB, rebuilt with foam shaped to be gripped between the knees through slamming, not just sat on
- Sun pads and aft bench cushions: large panels where straight seams and even tension make all the difference to how the boat looks
- Grab-rail pads and coaming trim: the small pieces that finish a cockpit off
Everything is patterned and sewn in-house, so we can reproduce your existing style (colours, contrast panels, piping, stitch lines) or give the cockpit a completely new scheme.
Materials that survive an open cockpit
The face material does the heavy lifting on an open boat, so we use marine-grade vinyls made to resist UV fading and mould, with a wipe-clean surface that shrugs off sun cream, salt and fish scales alike. Ordinary automotive vinyl looks similar on day one and fails fast afloat; marine vinyl is a different product and we treat it as non-negotiable for exposed seating.
Just as important is what you can't see. Seawater will always find its way into a cockpit seat, so we build with drainage in mind: quick-draining foams and construction that lets water out rather than trapping it, because trapped moisture is what turns foam sour and breeds mould under an otherwise sound cover.
Workshop or waterside
Most powerboat and RIB seats unbolt in minutes, so the usual route is to bring or send the seats to us at Unit 6 Carrock Road, Wirral, CH62 3RA while the boat stays where it is. You're welcome to visit the workshop and talk the job through with Craig, our lead trimmer, who has 15 years' experience. Where the seats can't easily come out, we offer nationwide onsite fitting.
Worth deciding before you get a quote
A retrim is the cheapest moment to change things you've always put up with. Common requests: deeper foam in a helm seat that bottoms out through chop, a taller bolster for a taller driver, grippier panels on a jockey seat, or swapping a colour scheme that shows every mark. Mention them when you enquire and we'll quote with and without.
Powerboat and RIB seating FAQs
If the vinyl has cracked, water is almost certainly reaching the foam, and a patch repair rarely holds on a seat that flexes as much as a jockey seat does. We'll tell you honestly which makes sense, but once the face material has failed across a panel, a retrim with new foam where needed is usually the better-value fix.
My RIB's jockey seats are cracked and letting in water, repair or retrim?
Usually that's easiest: most powerboat and RIB seats unbolt, and you can bring or send them to our Wirral workshop while the boat stays on its mooring or trailer. Where seats can't come out, we offer nationwide onsite fitting, so we can pattern and fit at the boat.
Do the seats have to come off the boat?
We use marine-grade vinyls made to resist UV and mould, and we build the seat so water has somewhere to go rather than sitting in the foam. No open-cockpit seat can be kept dry, but the right materials and construction stop moisture becoming trapped, which is what causes most mould and rot.
What stops the new seats going mouldy like the old ones?
Yes. Because we strip the seat back and rebuild the foam, a retrim is the ideal time to add depth to a mean cushion, firm up a helm seat you stand against at speed, or reshape a bolster that has never been comfortable. Tell us what you'd change and we'll build it into the job.
Can you change the shape or firmness, not just the cover?
Get a quote for your powerboat or RIB seats
Tell us the make and model of the boat, send a few photos of the seats, and we'll come back with material options and a written quote.
Request a quote