One of the best ways to upgrade your boat is by adding or replacing your snap-in mats.
Whenever our customers opt for this popular service, there are three avenues we can take to make it happen based on the make/model and condition of your boat:
#1. We refer to our internal patterning library to locate your exact pattern and custom-create your mats based on this template.
Our patterning library is something we’ve been accruing for over 4 years. While we have many makes/models accurately documented, with thousands of different types of boats on the market, it’s not uncommon for us not to have yours on file. In that case, we’ve got two other great solutions. Which brings us to our second avenue:
#2. We custom pattern your boat and design a brand new template for your mats.
Upon bringing your boat to the shop, our team will measure and map out the exact layout for your mats to ensure everything is to your precise specifications and liking.
This is our preferred and most accurate approach to creating custom mats for our customers. Why? Existing mats that have aged or were installed poorly can showcase imperfections. Perhaps they’ve shrunk over time, or the spacing is not quite perfect. These problems are easily identified during our patterning process and solved upon the creation of your new mats.
But are there instances where this approach isn’t suitable for some customers? Yes.
This begs the question, “Can my old snap-in mats be traced to create new ones?” Absolutely!
Sometimes our custom patterning service exceeds a customer’s desired budget or their geographical location is too far from our shop (we often service boaters outside the state of Michigan). In these cases, we have a third avenue for creating custom mats that’s great for them:
#3. Send us your existing mats so we can trace them and use them as a template to create new ones.
Thinking you’d be a good candidate for this approach? Watch this video for some important tips to make your experience as smooth and successful as possible:
Here are a few questions you’ll want to consider:
Are you 100% happy with the current layout of our mats?
Are your mats in good enough condition to be traced?
Every boater will have varying degrees of wear and tear to their existing mats. For tracing to produce quality results, the condition of your mats MUST be stable. This means the mats cannot be overly frayed, rotted, stretched, shrunken, thin, or present uneven spacing around the edges that is not to your desired preference.
We need to trust that the measurements we’re making are accurate to your boat's needs and these conditions jeopardize our ability to produce quality work.
In addition, any uneven spacing that currently exists when all of the mats are snapped in CANNOT be corrected in the production of your new mats.
When you trace existing mats, any issues that are present now WILL also be present when your new mats are installed. The only way to resolve displeasing imperfections is by patterning your boat.
Customers whose mats are not stable or present undesirable issues that they wish to solve with their new mats are NOT candidates for tracing.
But don’t be discouraged! We’re all about empowering our customers with solutions and we’ve already created detailed processes with helpful video step-by-step tutorials to assist out-of-state boaters who would like to pattern their own boats. If you’re interested in learning more about this, let’s chat more.
If your mats ARE in stable enough condition to be traced, then here are some remaining tips:
Before you send us your mats, start by snapping them all in. Note that you’re pleased with the layout and spacing of the current mats and that each mat is properly snapped into its place. If you can give a big thumbs up to both of these things, you’re ready to ship them to our shop for tracing.
Another common question customers ask is, “Is it possible for my mats to shrink during the shipping process?”
It is. However, this is extremely rare. In the 4+ years we’ve been in business, we’ve only seen 1 or 2 instances where this happened. So it’s unlikely you’ll experience this.
For customers who want some extra peace of mind, you can always take the extra step to measure the length and width of each mat (even providing us with a sketched template of your boat mat layout) so we know the exact measurement of each mat before they ship. That way if any potential shrinking took place, we would know immediately.
Again, shrinking during shipping is very rare.
Brand new snap-in mats instantly breathe new life and enjoyment into your boat! Curious to see our process in action? Check out this beautiful snap-in mat transformation:
Ready to revamp your boat mats?
Explore our woven vinyl and marine carpet options to start dreaming up your perfect look.
Ready to move forward? Learn more about our snap-in mat services and reach out for an estimate.