A factory refresh puts your interior back the way it left the builder, in the same look with better thread, while a full custom interior changes how the boat looks, feels and wears. The right choice depends less on budget than on two questions: do you like the boat the way it was built, and how much of the interior is actually worn out underneath?
On the Nor-Tech 340 Sport and 390 Sport we offer three set levels: the Factory Standard Refresh, the Premium Sport Upgrade and the Signature Bespoke Edition. Each one includes everything in the level below it. On other boats we price per hull, but the same thinking applies, and the descriptions below are a good way to tell us what you have in mind.
Factory Standard Refresh
This is the boat as it should be, rebuilt properly.
What it includes:
- OEM-spec marine vinyl from Spradling, Morbern or Sunbrella Horizon, matched to the factory colour and texture
- The option to change colours if you want to
- SolarFix PTFE thread, which is standard on every package we build
- A stitch pattern that matches the factory diamond
- Foam replaced where it needs it, not across the whole boat
- An inspection of every frame before we cover it
The factory match is a real match, not an eyeball one. We buy from the same suppliers Nor-Tech buys from, so the vinyl going back on your boat comes from the same houses that supplied it when it was built.
Who it suits: owners who liked the interior the day they bought the boat and want that back. It is also the sensible choice when the foam is mostly sound and the problem is the covers and seams. If the boat is going to market, a clean factory look is easy for a buyer to recognise, and Does new upholstery raise your boat's resale value covers that side.
Premium Sport Upgrade
This is where the interior starts to become yours. It is the level most of our clients ask about.
Everything in the Factory Standard Refresh, plus:
- Cool-touch silicone fabric
- CNC geometric quilting
- Custom embroidery
- Gore-Tenara or SolarFix thread
- A fully custom interior design, worked out with you
Who it suits: owners who use the boat hard and want it to look and feel different from every other hull at the dock. The design work is the real difference here. We start from how you use the boat, who sits where, what the seats need to do on a run home, and build the interior around that. Designing seating around how you use the boat explains the questions we ask, and Diamond stitching and quilting patterns shows what the quilting options look like.
Signature Bespoke Edition
This is the top of what we build, and it goes all the way down to the foam.
Everything in the Premium Sport Upgrade, plus:
- Alcantara EXO, Ultraleather or carbon-fibre-weave textures
- A full foam overhaul
- A ceramic stain-guard treatment
Who it suits: owners who want the interior to be the finest thing on the boat, and boats where the foam has had its life. A full foam overhaul matters because comfort and drying both live in the foam. On full foam work we use Dry-Fast reticulated foam, which Sailrite describes as an open-cell foam that "allows water and air to pass through freely." Recovering new vinyl over tired, wet foam is a short-lived result, so when the foam is gone this level is often the honest answer rather than the luxury one. What is under the cover: marine foam explained goes into why.
What stays the same at every level
Some things do not change between levels, and they are worth knowing before you choose:
- The same shop and the same process. Every job runs through the same sequence, under one roof in Oakland Park. You can see it on our process page.
- The same thread standard as a floor. SolarFix PTFE thread is standard on every package.
- The same warranty. Clause 7 of our Terms gives a "two (2) year limited warranty covering failures in stitching, seam binding, and direct installation craftsmanship from the date of final delivery. This warranty is transferable: if the vessel is sold during the warranty period, the warranty passes to the new owner for the time remaining, measured from the original date of final delivery." Material warranties come from the manufacturers, and we pass them through.
- The same rule on price. The price we quote is the price you pay. If we open a seat and find something that changes the work, we stop, photograph it, and give you the options and the cost in writing. You decide.
One honest note. On some jobs we also quote a budget-tier option. Under our Terms it uses budget-grade vinyl and polyester thread, it does not include Dry-Fast foam repair, and budget-tier work carries no craftsmanship warranty. We do not recommend it for Nor-Tech boats, and we will tell you plainly if we think it is the wrong fit for yours.
How to choose
Most owners can settle this with four questions.
1. Do you like the boat the way it was built? If yes, start with the Factory Standard Refresh. If you have always wanted it to look different, you are already looking at the Premium Sport Upgrade.
2. What condition is the foam in? Press into the seats. If they spring back, stay dry and do not smell, the foam may only need replacing in places. If they stay wet, smell or have gone flat, the foam is part of the job, and that points towards the Signature Bespoke Edition or at least a conversation about foam.
3. How hard is the boat used? A boat that runs offshore every weekend asks more of its seats than one that does a few sandbar days a year. Heavier use tends to justify the upgraded thread, the cooler fabric and the custom design.
4. How long are you keeping it? If you plan to keep the boat for years, the higher levels pay you back in comfort every time you are aboard. If it is going to market soon, a clean factory refresh may be the better use of the money, and the transferable warranty goes with the boat to the next owner.
If you are still unsure, that is normal. Send us photos and tell us how you use the boat, and we will tell you which level we would choose for it and why. Sometimes that is the less expensive one.
Beyond the seats
Whatever level you choose, canvas, EVA decking and marine carpet can be done at the same time and designed to match. It is easier to plan the whole interior together than to fit one piece to another later. What you are paying for in a professional marine interior covers what goes into each part of the work.
The next step
You do not need to pick a level before you contact us. A wide shot of the cockpit and a few close-ups of the worst seams tell us most of what we need, including the state of the foam. Send us the photos and we will price the job from them: request a quote here.
Send us photos of the boat and we will price it from those.
Request a quote