seating sun damage/ console repair

I have bought a 96 21' sun tracker the upholstery is shot.... Frames are good but upholstery guy says cheaper to replace all furniture than replace vinyl... Your thoughts pls or other options
The console surface with fingernail can be scratched off.... Is there a replacement cover that is made for the console....
Thanks
Mac

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

You can contact a upholstery shop and get a estimate.

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

While reupholstery won't be cheap but it is more than likely a better alternative than replacing with new stuff that might not be very good. A good Upholsterer will be able to fit your console it a new vinyl and make it look better than you could buy new. Same for the seating. Plan on replacing the foam in the seats as it will probably be shot also. If the seat frames are plastic they will be fine. If wood they will find rot when you open them up.
This from an Upholsterer of many years.
Enjoy the new toon.

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

MinUph said:

While reupholstery won't be cheap but it is more than likely a better alternative than replacing with new stuff that might not be very good. A good Upholsterer will be able to fit your console it a new vinyl and make it look better than you could buy new. Same for the seating. Plan on replacing the foam in the seats as it will probably be shot also. If the seat frames are plastic they will be fine. If wood they will find rot when you open them up.
This from an Upholsterer of many years.
Enjoy the new toon.

Click to expand...

It has the aluminum deck and it is a 96... It does have the plastic seating and frames are good....Thanks all for the reply
I had a Lowes 20' fishing toon and it was a good boat and was a 90 year with 70 hp.
I put bottom paint on the logs but sold it soon after, not sure how it held up I plan on doing the same on this one, I have a boat house on Texoma and we now have Zebra mussels. Has anyone else put the bottom paint on theirs?
Thanks Again
My newer one has a 94 merc.
Mac

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

mac42 said:

I have bought a 96 21' sun tracker the upholstery is shot.... Frames are good but upholstery guy says cheaper to replace all furniture than replace vinyl... Your thoughts pls or other options
The console surface with fingernail can be scratched off.... Is there a replacement cover that is made for the console....
Thanks
Mac

Click to expand...

another question on this topic. It appears as if my vinyl is deteriorating (cracking) for no real reason, everytime I take the cover off there seems to be more cracks on the upper back rests. At the beginning of the season there were none now there are many cracks, the vinyl feels brittle to touch and if I Push hard on it I can create a crack.

It almost seems as if the vinyl needs something to moisturize it to prevent crack, not sure that this can even be done as vinyl is like plastic. I didnt use cleaners with bleach or other harsh chemicals. Any thought on how I can reduce the cracking?

Thianks in advance

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

the Jagermeister said:

another question on this topic. It appears as if my vinyl is deteriorating (cracking) for no real reason, everytime I take the cover off there seems to be more cracks on the upper back rests. At the beginning of the season there were none now there are many cracks, the vinyl feels brittle to touch and if I Push hard on it I can create a crack.

It almost seems as if the vinyl needs something to moisturize it to prevent crack, not sure that this can even be done as vinyl is like plastic. I didnt use cleaners with bleach or other harsh chemicals. Any thought on how I can reduce the cracking?

Thanks in advance

Click to expand...

If your vinyl is cracking now there is nothing that will stop it. Vinyl is a plastic with softeners added to the mix to make it pliable. UV rays act on the vinyl and draw the softeners to the top and they dissipate with time. Marine vinyl has uv protection built into the mix and it slows down the process. Slows down is the key word here. Nothing is forever with the sun. When the vinyl gets hard enough to crack the softeners are pretty much gone and you can't replace them. Keeping a good coat of a product like armorall will help prolong the process but will not repair the problem.
As for reupholstering the furniture. A 21' toon without seeing it might run 2 or 3 thousand to reupholster everything in decent vinyl. I can't see replacing all the furniture for that amount and getting decent product. While I'm not privy in Sun Tracker replacement parts the console could also be recovered by a good Upholsterer. Maybe you choose an Upholsterer that was leary of taking on the job. Patterning is an art that not many are really good at. This type of work is out of the norm for many Upholsterers. That said you don't know if they are good until you SEE their work. Some are really shoddy and will do anything for cheap. And that is what you get. I would recommend asking around in your area for someplace that does marine work. Marinas are a good starting place. Good luck.

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

I just had a new console upholstered for 125.00 in a single color.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=579695

Re: seating sun damage/ console repair

I replaced the upper section of my console due to an accident. That part set me back nearly a grand with shipping and duty. The lower section I repaired and had an upholserer recover it. That was a hundred bucks.