Boat seat covers

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ngoldenm

Cadet
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
17
Hi guys. Great forum here.

I just bought my first boat. It's a 1990 Chaparral 2000SL. The upholstery is in some serious need of TLC. All of the vinyl needs to be replaced completely. All of the seats are cracked, and some have large rips. However, I don't want to send all of the seats off to be reupholstered right now in the middle of boating season. But I also don't want to deteriorate any of the interior parts of the seats that can still be saved.

Do any of you have any suggestions as to what I could use to cover them up while out on the water? Is there such a thing as some inexpensive covers to use just for the time being? The cheaper the better as these would only be used for the remainder of this year. Thanks.
 
C

calvinman

Seaman
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
66
Re: Boat seat covers

HI ngoldenm,

If you or your wife(if you are married) are handy with a sewing machine I would make slip covers with elastic in the hem out of plastic table cloth material.

May not look great, but the sun will break down your foam in no time if the cracks are big, and foam is very expensive.

Hope this helps, Oh yeah welcome to i-boats!

Calvi
 
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Utahboatnut

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
785
Re: Boat seat covers

Are they captians chairs or back to back? I picked up some terry cloth covers at boaters world before they went out of business. They are basically a white towell that is fitted with a elastic around the bottom to keep them on. They had them for back to back and for single jump seats. They were very inexpensive and work well ( I got them for the trips to lake powell when its 105 deg the vinyl tends to get mighty hot) they have worked like a charm plus you can throw them in the washer after the trip. I know I have seen them at other places.
 
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ngoldenm

Cadet
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
17
Re: Boat seat covers

Neither I nor my fiancee know anything about sewing. And I basically need something to cover every seat in the boat. I like the terry cloth idea. I'll take a look around and see what I can come up with. Maybe I can try to whip something up for the time being with some fabric like it. It doesn't have to be perfectly constructed. It's only to get me by until the end of this boating season. Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it.
 
redone4x4

redone4x4

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
1,548
Re: Boat seat covers

i took my seats out, and my dad, stepmom, and I are working on re-doing them. I dont know how to sew either, but i replaced some other vinyl that just required stapling. The vinyl seats should be taken apart, and use the old vinyl for patterns then have someone sew new ones out of marine grade vinyl. you can change colors of the interior a little at this point if you wanted. Maybe a family member, or neighbor could help you on the sewing?

I did get the terrycloth seatcovers at first, they worked good. actually, i still use them to protect the new vinyl and like said above its nice because you can come home and machine wash them.
 
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ngoldenm

Cadet
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
17
Re: Boat seat covers

Well, I took the boat by an old family friend who does upholstery work to see what he would charge to do it. He quoted me $1600 to do all the vinyl in the boat (seats, side pads, and anything else covered in vinyl), replace all the wood in the boat (seat boxes, floor and anything else that needs it), and put in new carpet. He does good work. So instead of waiting until the end of boating season, we're going to go ahead and have him do it now instead of having to replace the floor ourselves. Now just to get the engine cleaned and tuned up and buff the paint back into good shape, and we'll have a very nice boat for a not a lot of money.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll probably still look into the terry cloth covers though. I still like the idea.
 
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