reupholstering boat seats?

[Hariiboo]

Hi I'm not sure if this is the right place to post about this, but I have been asked to make some boat seats.

I have made a good attempt but it still doesn't seem right..

Has anyone managed to make seats by hand? If so could you give advice?

If you need a photo to help explain, let me know, I'll post one

Thanks

Harii
Xx

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Do you have a commercial sewing machine handy?

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Pics always help!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Although access to a high end or commercial machine can make boat upholstery 'easier' it is possible w/ a typical household machine. A slightly older, all metal geared machine would be helpful too.

Many have bought a <$50 yard sale machine and done great work.

WOG has a good DIY upholstery thread:
"Building and Upholstering a Bench Seat"

JDA1975 bought a machine to do his boat's upholstery & QUICKLY discovered he had a knack for it & quite a few people asking for him to do their upholstery. Started his own upholstery business. He too has 2 upholstery threads:
Another one...Upholstery

Pontoon Seat Rebuild and Upholstery Job


PM either of them if you get stuck.

I suspect WOG will find your thread & post up here soon. There are a couple of posters in those 3 threads doing great upholstery work too that would likely help you out too....

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Been there, done that so post up some pics and let's have a look at what you've got!!!

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Do you have a commercial sewing machine handy?

I do own a sewing machine.. as I said Ive made a pretty good attempt,, but I'm just not sure about it..

I don't know how to add photos

Harii
Xx

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Been there, done that so post up some pics and let's have a look at what you've got!!!

Ok So here's a couple of pics of what i've done see what you think ?


I hope its right

Harii

xx

 

[tpenfield]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

It looks like you are re-covering an existing seat. . . The trick is to get the new covering to fit tight and match the shape of the old covering as much as possible. You will want to use stainless steel staples to fasten it to the backing material.

I re-covered the rear seat of my Formula 242 back about 7 years ago (pic below). I used a household sewing machine with an upholstery needle. One of the tricks was to use the old covering pieces as the pattern for the new pieces and get things to fit as tight as possible. I also tracked down the same type of vinyl that Formula originally used (Nautolex).

BEFORE . . . .

AFTER . . . .

I changed the sunpad portion a bit, giving it the colored stripes instead of plain white of the original.

The only problems that I had was that the gray did not quite match the original . . . The red was an exact match. I re-used the black pieces from around the cup holders. Sewing was difficult and I used lots of clips to hold the pieces together as I was sewing. The small pads forming the back rest were fairly difficult to make, since they were so small.

If you can get the new covering to be as close in shape to the original, then the fastening will be easier and the end result will look better. I cannot quite tell how tight the covering is going to be in the pictures that you posted, but I would try to pull things taut and see what it looks like. It is always easier to tighten up the pattern by taking the seams in a bit.

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Yes, the original peices are very sun damaged, practically unusable.. so I made my own template from measuring it.

So if I staple it on it should hopefully fit nicely?

It doesn't help that I don't have all the parts of the chair I only have that bit..

Harii

Xx

 

[redstrat]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?


I almost always make my own templates. Usually the old covers are so stretched and damaged, they are useless for a good pattern. I can't tell from the pics if you have foam on the seats yet. Experiment with the foam and cover until you get the fit right. Minor wrinkles will come out after a few hot/cold cycles. Big ones will not. Hope this helps, keep us posted.

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

View attachment 206689View attachment 206690View attachment 206691 View attachment 206692
I almost always make my own templates. Usually the old covers are so stretched and damaged, they are useless for a good pattern. I can't tell from the pics if you have foam on the seats yet. Experiment with the foam and cover until you get the fit right. Minor wrinkles will come out after a few hot/cold cycles. Big ones will not. Hope this helps, keep us posted.

Thanks that's good to know . I hope everything goes well when I'm finished .

Xx

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

It's hard to say from the pics what will happen in the final fit. Once the foam is in place an you start to tug and pull and staple the vinyl onto the frame.

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

It's hard to say from the pics what will happen in the final fit. Once the foam is in place an you start to tug and pull and staple the vinyl onto the frame.

There is foam on it (arms and head piece) I dont have the seat bit..

Sorry I am really out of my depth and I'm probably not making any sense.. bear with me

Xx

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Where can I buy a staple gun from?

Thanks xx

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

I highly recommend getting an air stapler from Harbor Freight. The Manual guns just don't cut it IMHO. Make sure it's the 1/2 or 7/16" wide crown stapler and not the 1/4".

 

[redstrat]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

I'm in agreement with Woodonglass. Make sure you can get Stainless staples 1/4 to 1/2'' in length. You can get SS staples for an arrow t-50. I've used them dock-side at times when I don't have air.

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Arrow t-50 ? Sorry what? I'm in the UK so I can't get a staple gun from Harbor Freight. Do I get heavy duty staples and a heavy duty staple gun.. or is that too much?

Also I'm struggling with the base, where my main back bit doesn't quite line up. Does the base matter if its a bit wonky?

I'm really out of my comfort zone here, I'm used to shaping fabric to a body, not a fibreglass seat..

Xx

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Pics??? Gotta have Pics!!!

 

[redstrat]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Arrow t-50 ? Sorry what? I'm in the UK so I can't get a staple gun from Harbor Freight. Do I get heavy duty staples and a heavy duty staple gun.. or is that too much?

Also I'm struggling with the base, where my main back bit doesn't quite line up. Does the base matter if its a bit wonky?

I'm really out of my comfort zone here, I'm used to shaping fabric to a body, not a fibreglass seat..

Xx

Sorry, Arrow t-50 is an American staple gun available just about anywhere. No need for heavy duty, just Stainless steel. The amount of "wonky" is up to you. Making it fit should be just like fitting it to a body, except , I don't need to be so careful with the pins.

 

[Hariiboo]

Re: reupholstering boat seats?

Sorry, Arrow t-50 is an American staple gun available just about anywhere. No need for heavy duty, just Stainless steel. The amount of "wonky" is up to you. Making it fit should be just like fitting it to a body, except , I don't need to be so careful with the pins.

Ah, OK thanks ..
I've had to start again (for the 3rd time) .
Hopefully get a second pair of hands to help (my dad most probably)

Xx