 In today's episode, we are getting comfy in our upholstery department. You'll get to see the talented team of seamstresses making every cushion that we use here at Sportsman. Upholstery is one of the very first things you'll notice about a boat and for many, the deciding factor. So sit back, relax and let's see what's behind the glass. Modern boats require modern techniques, materials and processes. Here at Sportsman, we carry that all throughout our boat building process. Stepping into our upholstery shop, you immediately get a sense of craftsmanship and technology working together, but it all starts at the design phase. During the designing and prototyping phase of a new boat, all of the upholstery is designed in to meet the needs of modern boaters. The designs go through rigorous phases until we have a final approved design. Many factors will dictate the final design from the overall aesthetics to ease of installation and longevity. Depending on a cushion's intended use, it will receive a mesh bottom, drain holes to drain any water out, or a hard bottom. Hard bottom cushions are used for any cushions that will need structural rigidity. A key advantage to our construction is the silicone-based marine textiles that we use. This advanced material is engineered to outlast traditional vinyl and has incredible modern properties while providing a soft touch and plush feel. Like the design has been finalized, we move on to the production phase. Modern technology in our upholstery department has facilitated a 200% increase in productivity while taking our quality to new heights. Work begins with cutting and trimming all of the materials down to size. Our state-of-the-art in-house CNC machines make quick work of all of the precise cuts required for each cushion. The first machine cuts the substrate we will use across many cushions. This machine will also cut precise mounting locations for every cushion, making installation down the line a breeze. We use a combination of two materials for the rigid cushions. The first material is a white PVC plastic used for hard bottoms. The second is a black substrate that is semi-rigid, making it perfect for cushions that require some bending like the bow bolsters. Our second CNC station pre-cuts all of the fabric out of a long roll of material. It does quick work of what has traditionally been a very labor-intensive job. This allows us to have very precise cuts and minimizes waste by nesting parts closely together. The final CNC station adds the diamond stitching you see on many of our cushions. This machine takes a large piece of material and creates a patterned sheet. This sheet will later be cut down for size for the appropriate cushion. Now that we have all of the prep work completed, it's time to start assembly. And it all starts with sewing. Each seamstress receives a kit containing every piece of side leather, mesh and diamond pattern used for a specific boat. Assisted by small tabs pre-cut into the material by the CNC machine, they will sew the pieces together to form the outer layer of each cushion. It takes years to master this craft. The combination of modern technology and craftsmanship work together harmoniously to craft the finished product. The pieces now move on to the next station, where a team of coverers will complete the cushion assembly. Before we go any further, let's take a quick break and talk about the advantages of side leather. We are often asked what the advantages are of this material, and we break it down into three different things. The first thing is weather resistance. This material is silicone-based as opposed to traditional vinyl, and it has a great ability to withstand weathering. The second advantage we'd like to talk about is stain resistance. Often you hear about things like sunscreen being damaging for the upholstery, but again, this is silicone-based and it doesn't have those issues. And the last thing we'd like to talk about, probably the most important one is comfort. Just touching this material right off the bat, you get a really soft and nice, luxurious feel to it. And that is a great advantage to this material. So now that we've talked about those advantages, let's head back into the assembly process where we are about to start covering our cushions. The PVC and plastic substrate pieces we saw being cut earlier are covered with the internal layers of foam. The foam will give the cushion the shape and sculpting you see across our votes. This assembly is then covered with the material sewed together by the seamstresses and secured to the back of the plastic bottoms using staples. For cushions that will have an exposed bottom, they will use a binding material for concealing the staples called hydem. This gives the bottom of the cushion a clean look. The team repeats these steps to create all of the cushions for each sportsman model. The pieces are then collected and delivered to the assembly floor. Installation of each piece takes advantage of the precision mounting holes cut earlier in the process. The assembly team uses templates to install corresponding mounting brackets on the boat and securely fasten down the upholstered pieces. To wrap up assembly, they install any snaps or additional hardware. Thank you for spending time with us exploring our upholstered department. This is part of our SportTech Advanced Fabrication Process. This proprietary combination of processes and materials yields the best results each step of the way and has been thoroughly tested for durability, longevity and finish. All sportsmen boats feature 100% composite construction with zero weight. Join us in our next episode for another installment of Sportsman's Behind the Glass where we are going to be taking a look at how we manufacture our ergonomic consoles. From Somerville, South Carolina, my name is Victor and thank you for watching.