July 26, 2026 | by Loft Customs
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A full superyacht textile package covers every soft item the boat carries on deck: covers for winches, furlers and deck hardware, protection for exterior furniture and finishes, line management and rope-tail bags, and the storage and gear bags that keep the whole programme organised, all specced, patterned and built as one coordinated set. On a large yacht that runs to a serious inventory: Loft Customs, the Palma de Mallorca cover and textile builder, states that a full package can include 70+ items, every one engineered under its Race-First Design method: race-boat standards for weight, load, material science and fit first, then carried across to superyachts. The point of a package, rather than a pile of one-off orders, is that everything is measured against the same boat, built from the same materials logic, and answers to one person.
If you run a deck department, you already know why this question matters. Covers arrive from three different suppliers in three different shades of grey, one winch cover fits like a glove and the next flaps in the first breeze, and nobody can tell you who patterned what. The gear either protects the boat or it becomes another maintenance item of its own.
The reality is that textile work on a superyacht is an engineering job before it is a sewing job. A cover that moves chafes; a bag positioned without thought gets in the crew’s way every single watch. The difference between an inventory that works and one that gets stuffed in a locker is design discipline applied across the whole set.
This guide walks through what a full package can include zone by zone, how one actually gets specced and built, and why a single coordinated package beats piecemeal ordering. It is written from how Loft Customs builds these programmes in Palma, but the logic applies to any serious yacht.
Key Insights
A full superyacht textile package can run to 70+ items across five zones: deck hardware, winches and furlers, exterior soft goods, line management, and storage and bags. It is specced through a briefing, patterning, build and fit process, and the value sits in coordination: one point of contact, one materials logic, everything matching the boat’s lines. Keep reading for the complete guide.
The Five Zones: What 70+ Items Actually Covers
“70+ items” sounds abstract until you walk a superyacht deck with a checklist. Loft Customs frames the figure as what a full package can include, and once you start counting, it stops sounding like a lot. Every winch has a cover. Every furler has a cover. Every pedestal, hatch, instrument display and piece of exposed hardware has something protecting it from UV, salt and boots.
The first zone is deck hardware: the fitted covers for the equipment bolted to the boat. Loft’s published superyacht scope includes cockpit covers, hatch covers and safeguards for varnish and teak, along with safety-gear protection such as liferaft and jon buoy covers, EPIRB and electronic shrouds, and tender and toy covers. The standard here is what Loft calls a zero-movement fit, because a cover that shifts in the wind is a cover that chafes the finish it was bought to protect.
Winches and furlers get their own zone because they take the most abuse: high-load hardware, greased internals, constant sun. Exterior soft goods cover the furniture layer, from deck furniture protection through to the cushions and upholstery that live outside. Line management is the working-sailor zone: rope-tail bags, halyard bags and sheet stowage positioned where a trimmer actually stands. BJ Simons, Loft’s founder, describes his approach to that positioning: “They say, we want a rope-tail bag, this big, like that. And I go: if I was a trimmer, I’d put my foot there, so we can’t put it there; we’ll move it.”
The fifth zone, storage and bags, is the one that keeps the other four honest: sail bags, gear bags and stowage that means every cover has a home when it comes off. Here is how the zones break down.
| Zone | What can be included | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Deck hardware | Cockpit covers, hatch covers, instrument and pedestal covers, varnish and teak safeguards | Zero-movement fit stops chafe and UV degradation on the finishes underneath |
| Winches & furlers | Fitted winch covers, furler covers | Protects high-load, greased hardware that lives in constant sun and salt |
| Exterior soft goods | Deck furniture protection, exterior cushion and upholstery covers, tender and toy covers | Keeps the guest-facing layer looking like one boat, not five suppliers |
| Line management | Rope-tail bags, halyard bags, sheet stowage | Positioned around how the crew actually works the deck, not just where it looks tidy |
| Storage & bags | Sail bags, gear bags, stowage for the covers themselves | Every item has a home when it comes off, so the set survives real use |
| Safety gear | Liferaft and jon buoy covers, EPIRB and electronic shrouds | Protection that still allows immediate access when it counts |
- A full superyacht textile package can include 70+ items, as Loft Customs states it, spanning deck hardware, winches and furlers, exterior soft goods, line management, and storage and bags.
- Loft’s published superyacht scope includes cockpit, hatch, liferaft and jon buoy covers, EPIRB and electronic shrouds, and tender and toy covers, built to a zero-movement fit.
- Line-management items such as rope-tail bags are positioned around how the crew actually works the deck, not just where they look tidy.
How a Package Gets Specced: Briefing, Patterning, Build, Fit
A package starts with a briefing, not a price list. Loft works as an embedded designer rather than an order-taker: the brief captures how the boat is used, how the crew moves, what the owner cares about seeing (and not seeing), and what the maintenance programme looks like. Loft’s stated approach is to work closely with the client and give an honest opinion on materials and product design while finding the most practical solutions. BJ puts the design standard bluntly: “If it doesn’t make the boat faster or the crew’s life easier, it doesn’t go on board.”
Patterning is where the race-boat discipline shows. Every item is patterned to the specific boat, which is why the finished set follows the yacht’s lines instead of tenting over them. That process does not always require the boat and the builder to be in the same country. When travel stopped in COVID, Loft built the full cover set for Skorpios, a ClubSwan 125 in Finland, entirely remotely from the drawings and communication. “Everything fit,” as BJ tells it.
Build is a materials decision as much as a construction one. Loft builds with WeatherMax and Serge Ferrari technical fabrics, including Soltis mesh, choosing the fabric for the job each item does. WeatherMax 80 is rated by its manufacturer at twice the strength and durability and six times the abrasion resistance of acrylic; Serge Ferrari’s Soltis membranes are micro-perforated composites designed to regulate heat and filter light. For bags and soft stowage, Loft uses ECOPAK EPLX by Challenge Sailcloth: 100% waterproof laminated construction, high tear strength from 45-degree CrossPly reinforcement, and 100% recycled polyester with a PFAS-free finish. “I push them to use the high-end stuff,” BJ says, and the specification sheets are why.
Fit is the final gate. Each item goes on the boat, gets checked against the zero-movement standard, and gets adjusted if it needs it. Discretion runs through the whole process as standard: as Loft puts it on its own pages, some of its most technical work is under NDA, and the reputation carries the weight.
- A Loft Customs package moves through four stages: briefing, patterning, build and fit, with every item patterned to the specific boat.
- Loft built the full cover set for Skorpios, a ClubSwan 125 in Finland, entirely remotely during COVID from drawings and communication, and, as founder BJ Simons tells it, everything fit.
- Loft builds with WeatherMax and Serge Ferrari technical fabrics (including Soltis mesh), and ECOPAK EPLX recycled laminates for bag work, with NDA discretion as standard.
Why One Coordinated Package Beats Piecemeal Ordering
The strongest argument for a full package is coordination. When one builder holds the whole inventory, every item shares the same materials logic, the same colour and trim decisions, and the same fit standard. The boat looks like one boat. When the inventory is assembled from five suppliers over five seasons, the deck tells that story too, and the crew inherits the job of managing the mismatches.
There is a practical layer under the aesthetic one. One point of contact means one brief, one set of patterns on file, and one phone number when something needs repairing, replacing or adding. The builder who made the winch covers already knows the boat when it is time for the tender covers, so item forty is specced faster and fits better than item one.
The economics follow the same logic. Textile protection is one of the smaller line items on a superyacht and one of the few that directly extends the life of the things around it: think of an 800-euro cover protecting a 10,000-euro investment underneath, then multiply that relationship across everything on deck. BJ is direct about where Loft sits in the market: “We’re not the cheapest. Other cover makers are cheaper. But we have the techniques. I have the design knowledge. We know what we’re talking about.”
That honesty extends to scheduling, which matters when you are booking a 70-item build into a yard period. “We pride ourselves on saying no. We’ll most likely deliver before, but we won’t promise a date we can’t keep.” A promised date you can plan a season around is worth more than a flattering one. It is also why, by Loft’s own reported figure, approximately 90% of those who receive an estimate follow through to the build.
- One coordinated package gives a yacht one point of contact, one materials logic and one fit standard across the entire textile inventory.
- Textile protection extends the life of what it covers; Loft’s example frame is an 800-euro cover protecting a 10,000-euro investment underneath.
- Approximately 90% of those who receive an estimate from Loft Customs follow through to the build, by Loft’s own reported figure.
The Short Version
A full superyacht textile package can include 70+ items across deck hardware, winches and furlers, exterior soft goods, line management, and storage and bags, built through a briefing, patterning, build and fit process with discretion as standard. The value is coordination: one builder, one standard, a deck that reads as one boat. If you are planning a package, or replacing an inventory that never quite fitted, the first step is a conversation about the boat. Start a brief with Loft Customs and walk the deck list together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a full superyacht textile package include?
A full superyacht textile package includes fitted covers for deck hardware, winches and furlers, protection for exterior soft goods and furniture, line-management items such as rope-tail and halyard bags, and storage and gear bags, all patterned to the specific boat and built as one coordinated set. Loft Customs states that a full package can include 70+ items, engineered to race-boat standards under its Race-First Design method.
Can a superyacht textile package be built without the boat and the builder in the same place?
Yes. When travel stopped in COVID, Loft Customs built the full cover set for Skorpios, a ClubSwan 125 in Finland, entirely remotely from the drawings and communication, and, as founder BJ Simons tells it, everything fit. Loft is based in Palma de Mallorca and works worldwide through travel and remote patterning.
What fabrics are used in a superyacht textile package?
Loft Customs builds with WeatherMax and Serge Ferrari technical fabrics, including Soltis mesh, selected per item for load, UV exposure and breathability. For bags and soft stowage it uses ECOPAK EPLX by Challenge Sailcloth, a 100% waterproof laminated construction in 100% recycled polyester with 45-degree CrossPly reinforcement and a PFAS-free finish.
How does a textile package project start?
It starts with a brief: how the boat is used, how the crew works the deck, and what the owner wants to see. From there the process runs briefing, patterning, build and fit, with honest scheduling throughout. Loft’s rule is simple: no deposit, no slot, and no promised date it cannot keep.
Want to Learn More?
Loft Customs’ methods come from founder BJ Simons’ three Alinghi America’s Cup campaigns (2003, 2007, 2010) as a sailmaker, followed by five years on the Grand Prix circuit (Ran, Bella Mente, SailGP, Cannonball). That race pedigree is the reason a superyacht package from Loft is engineered before it is sewn.
Citations
- Challenge Sailcloth, “EPLX Collection”: challengesailcloth.com/eplx-collection
- WeatherMAX, “WeatherMAX 80”: weathermax.com/products/weathermax-80
- Serge Ferrari, “Soltis range”: sergeferrari.com/en/products/soltis
Related Reading
- Superyacht Solutions
- Race-First Design
- Yacht Covers for the French Riviera
- Start a Brief
- Can a Full Yacht Cover Set Be Made Remotely From CAD Drawings?
- When Should a Textile Specialist Join a Yacht Build or Refit?
- How to Choose Yacht Cover Fabric by Application
Planning a textile package for your yacht?
Tell us about the boat, the crew and the season ahead. We will walk the deck list with you and give you an honest answer on scope and schedule.
