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The client brought this 36-foot Spectre Cat to B’s Kustom Kreations of Jefferson City, Mo., because he was looking for custom upholstery work from a reputable shop, and B’s fit the bill, says owner Bryan Lute. “We specialize in custom automotive upholstery so we love opportunities to work on boats and show the boat industry what we can do.”
In addition to having the bucket seats, rear seats and upper side panels recovered, the client wanted custom-built headrests added to the rear row to make it more comfortable for passengers and safer in rough waters. Lute says adding the headrest was particularly challenging because the rear seat was originally flat across the top. “The client wanted to add the headrest by inserting a section without completely rebuilding the entire seat,” says Lute. “This made me wonder how the integrity and flow was going to look in the finished product, and whether we could get the rear seat to match the front seats.” Lute’s goal was to get everything to flow and play off each other so the headrest didn’t look like a massive afterthought.
The client’s desire to keep the interior design simple and clean with minimal colors also presented new challenges. “Most projects we do are usually bolder and more eye-popping,” says Lute. To keep the design simple yet elegant, he took a common diamond pattern and made the diamonds sweeping. “We had never done an actual interior with the sweeping diamonds,” says Lute. “This was a new experience and a gamble about how it was all going to tie together.”
In the end, the project came together beautifully. The client loved it, and it won the Award of Excellence and the Award of Distinction for Marine Exterior Upholstery in the 2021 Marine Fabricators Association Excellence Awards.
Marine upholsterer
B’s Kustom Kreations
Fabrics
Sunbrella® Horizon™ Capriccio by Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, Shock Thunder Adrenaline Collection by Morbern®
Shop location
Jefferson City, Mo.
Designer, Fabricator and Installer
Bryan Lute