Reupolstering boat seats.

[tater50]

Anyone ever done their own upholstering of their boat seats. I am getting ready to try to upholster my own. My toon is a 1988 Monark 20 footer. It has a two person bench seat that is curved for the captains chair. It will be the biggest challenge. The other seats are flat and shouldn't take much to reupholster.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

no, but i will be shortly, with all the modification we did to my pontoon boat with the exception of the captains chair nothing else fits lol..... so we are making our own seating and will be attempting to upolster our own.... that will likely be 2 to 4 weeks out though as I am still waiting for the wife to buy the potty she so insisted on having so i can incorporate it into one of the seats.
if someone wants I can make an attempt at posting pics and explainations of what and why we are doing what we are doing..... it will be interesting as I have only watched a few videos and think i can handle it...we'll see in time.
Right now I am going to celebrate as I have successfully disassembled and reassembled with intended results a single stick trottle/shifter for my pontoon... I had to reverse the shifting mechenism rather interesting.
So before i take this thread anymore off course :redface: I am going to go crack a beer and celebrate.

Sean

 

[Jobless Recovery]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

FYI - I have done some upholstery work (novice) and all I can recommend is to reinforce you seams beforce you stitch and/or stretch you vinyl. If there's much stress on the seam the vinyl can easily tear away from it's backing.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

Upholstery is an art, so it may look a little off but you never learn anything if you don't try.

I have tried my hand at it on a bass seat or 2 with some pretty sorry results, just take your time and do your best and that is all you can do.

 

[vergil]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

another thing to consider is if it doesnt come out
are you better off to have the seats professionaly done or buy new ones, one the boat i am redoing i had nothing to start with and fiqured by the time i built all the seats for it, the poor boat wouldnt get done till fall, wise has some pretty nice seats for a reasonable price. well good luck

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

There is vinyl and then there is quality vinyl. Using cheap vinyl is a waste of time and money as it simply will not last. Vinyl is also no longer inexpensive. I used to buy the stuff by the bolt but one has to look long and hard to find it in large quantities at a price that makes this work worth while. Make a couple of mistakes and you quickly learn some things are either best left to the pro's or else replaced with new items. You also need a heavy duty sewing machine - preferably a commercial model.

 

[tater50]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

Thanks for the replys everyone. I know upholstery is an art but like 5150abf said you won't learn anything if you don't try. Silvertip says vinyl isn't cheap anymore but what I gave for the marine vinyl I bought wasn't that expensive. If it lasts for three or four years it will be good. Thanks again for the replies. I will post some pictures when I finish.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

well after looking at the vinyl i opted for outdoor polyester canvas with PVC backing, thats what i am going to make my seat cushions out of, and likely any needed sun shades as well. it was MUCH cheaper than vinyl and almost as waterproof, and i have used it for many other outdoor items with good results. What surprised me the most was not only was vinyl expensive now but that FOAM is now costly as well. At this point I am chasing down used couches and intend to take the seat cushions and use their foam before they go to the dump. I hope this works well.....figure a trip through the washing machine on sanitize setting which superheats the water should take care of any bugs or yucky stuff.

Sean

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

If you do them yourself you may want to buy a used heavy-duty sewing machine and use a heavy-duty needle, like a denim needle to sew through all that. I did that for my seat canvas covers. What I did for my seats was take out the seats and disassemble, then, carefully remove all the covers from the foam and base. These were now patterns that I took to a local person who makes drapes for houses, they have the equipment to do this properly and if you catch them on their off-season, you might get a deal. I paid about $80 for all my seat covers...of course I bought the marine vinyl and handed all that to her and she did a great job. I then re-installed the covers and seats back into the pontoon. We are quite happy with the results.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

i wish it were that easy for me
Due to the fact that my boat has a cabin, and the wife insisted on a pot in the rear starboard corner, and that i moved the cabin back 2 ft and had to install a doghouse for the engine.....I therefore was lucky enough to get to create all new furniture that would work well and allow my wife full unrestricted access to the pot and about the boat, the furniture is uniquely shaped due to this....oh wife is in wheel chair....so she needs more room than average to turn around ect.... anyhow i think i came up with a happy compromise as far as furniture design it feels reasonably comfortable for all parties involved. I will report back on this sat eve as that is when the sewing starts...and i find out if what i think will work and look good actually does......crossing fingers and praying quietly.

Sean
p.s.
I built a 3d version of the boat to scale on google sketchup if anyone wants to see what she will look like when done (or at least my intended result) PM me and i will email a copy to you. Rather proud of the design, but if someone sees an issue with it i would appreciate them pointing it out. The fwd sunshade will be collapsible and stowed against the cabin when trailered or if i ever install more than the 20hp engine she has on her now. have the design for that separate.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

well figured i would update you guys, today i have learned how to sew, had my bro in law school me completely in sewing (never new he could....let alone be very good at it), show me how to make proper patterns..... and then.....we got 3 cushions and 1 back completed... they look really good. what we did was cut a template 1" larger than the wood it would be fixed to, then make an 8" edge around that to give it body and thickness.... and then when shaped and stitched.... pulled it over the foam then over the wood...and stapled with stainless staples. it looks pretty good..... very good i might add. If i didnt know where the problem areas were i would likely miss them completely.got a few more to do. and will post some pics if anyone interested.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

Sewing is fun isn't it, I actually made a camper top for my boat from a boat cover and a bimini top complete with windows and I did all this on my wifes Brother sewing machine I got her at Wal Mart.

She did give me the basics but it was still a huge pain and I think I invented at least 4 new cuss words along the way but now I can fish in the rain and cold nice and still be warm and dry.

Glad you found someone to help you, as I said I have tried a couple times with pitiful results.

Looking at the furniture at work I am just amazed they can do some of the stuff they do and make it look so good, it really is an art.

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

i actually found i like sewing... it was just different....
once i finish the boat I am going to make a radio control teradactyle (flying dino) with very light ripstop for the wings

ok back to topic at hand, since we didnt have any pattern to follow we used the plywood seats as the template, we then added 1 inch to allow for the seam, and then since we had 4" high density foam we added 1 inch for the seam and added 3 inches to allow us to pull over the plywood and still have 2.5" to staple to the seat bottom. for ea corner there was a seam for the top to the side and for the side panels to connect to. Since i used polyester canvas with PVC backing (kind of like vulcanized canvas) I chose to use outdoor polyester thread (i was later told that polyester uv stabilized thread is the correct thread to use but that it kinks and is harder to sew with than nylon upolstery thread.) After a few scraps for practice it was off to the races since the scraps were strong enough that i could not get the seam to fail by tugging pulling or twisting.
I was then taught that after the sewing that the seams must be flattened (by iron)so as not to get in the way, and that one side should be trimmed a little shorter than the other, and that it lays nicely if it unflattens its self. I was also taught that you must trim the leftover material from the seem in any 3 way corner.

hope this helps

 

[ONERCBOATER]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

well now i am upolstering my swivel seats that are going up front, the fabric and wood were trashed the foam good. there was enough fabric to make a pattern from, and the would was in good enough shape to trace out before it fell to pieces. It went very well, 1 seat done, will be putting the back on it this afternoon I am getting fancier as i go, now doing two tone for the swivel seats...and my seams are straight and strong.
I will post a pic of both the 1st seat i did and the current one i have done.

Looks like i will be doing the awning as well in the future.

Sean

 

[BatDaddy1887]

Re: Reupolstering boat seats.

Onercboater....we would like to see photos of your handiwork!