Press Releases

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Macomb County in mid-March, it hit hard. Everyone felt the effect as hospitals took care of vulnerable patients, businesses were shuttered overnight and area schoolchildren struggled to understand how the school year was abruptly over.

Fabric is only half of the equation for many manufacturers in the specialty fabrics industry. The other half, metalwork and framing, requires its own set of capabilities.

Today with the efforts of our amazing team at Lake Shore Boat Top Company we hit a new milestone in producing PPE for the local Community. Today our team surpassed 31,000 + PPE pieces of equipment between Face Masks and Facial Shields!

In business since 1959, Rob Kotowski said that the Lake Shore Boat Top Company had never had to lay off an employee until March 23, 2020.

At Lake Shore Boat Top Co. in St. Clair Shores, Mich., we fabricate custom marine canvas year-round. Our customers come to us for high-quality marine fabrication, and we depend on our staff to help provide new ideas to make every boat truly a work of art. We treat our flooring the same way.

“We don’t anticipate that the completion of a project is the last time we talk with our clients,” says Rob Kotowski, owner and president of Lake Shore Boat Top Co., St. Clair Shores, Mich. “We typically follow up with them a couple of weeks…”

Rob Kotowski just can’t stay away from water. Like his dad, who bought the family’s Lake Shore Boat Top Co. in 1971, he grew up near water—both frozen and liquid. It keeps him busy year-round, working on boats in the summer and coaching high school hockey in the winter.

This 13-panel enclosure is made with black Sunbrella fabric and Strataglass windows. The front windows are made with .60 mil Strataglass and the side and aft panels are .40 mil Strataglass.

This project took a lot of our skills to design. The two-piece travel cockpit cover zips and attaches onto a telephone booth enclosure.

Lake Shore Boat Top Company, Inc. has been making it their mission to design and manufacture high quality products tailored to each customer’s specific needs since 1959. Serving the Metro-Detroit area, it is no secret that this family owned business strives to offer unparalleled customer satisfaction.

The customer wanted to give this boat a new look. He wanted this boat to look something like a Grand Banks and provided me many photos of how he wanted the aft deck enclosure and splash curtains along the bridge.

The purpose of this project was to provide the customer a clear view while driving from the bridge of this boat. His old enclosure had some view lines that obstructed his view and he wanted this corrected.

The owner wanted all glass and that’s what he got! They wanted to be able to look out the back from the helm and see nothing but the water with little to no canvas in his view line.

The client entertains many people on this boat during the boating season and he wanted something that would provide a clean and sleek look that would match his haul and the aesthetics of the boat.

This project won a 2013 MFA Award of Excellence in the travel covers category. The project took a lot of skills to design. The two-piece travel cockpit cover zips and attaches onto a telephone booth enclosure.

This project won a 2013 MFA Award of Excellence in the tops and enclosures under 30 feet category. It is a unique design for our company. The customer came to us looking for a new design to protect the aft section of his boat.

Erik Kyle, Publisher of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt Magazine, speaks to Rob from Lake Shore Boat Top, at the 2012 Boating and Outdoor Festival. Brought to you by Great Lakes Scuttlebutt Magazine.