Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

[jasonachord]

Hello all,

I?ve been trolling the site for awhile trying to gain some knowledge of boating from you guys. I?ve found a lot of useful information here and decided to tackle reupholstering my ?new to me? boat purchased last summer. It?s a 92 Arrow Glass 185 which the interior is not in bad condition, just a few popped seams and the white vinyl looks dingy from age. I also bought some speakers I wanted to install in the side panels which lead to my decision to go ahead and try my skills at upholstering. I?ve decided to go with some simple stripes which should be fairly easy to sew since I?ve never used a sewing machine. Here?s what I?ve done so far, let me know what you think.

Jason Achord
Tallassee, AL

 

[oops!]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

hi jason.....welcome to i boats !

this is a great foum. there are a lot of other crazys here that play with boats.....lol

looking to see more progress on your uph !

what kind of machine are you using?

cheers
oops

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Looks good so far. Did you see this thread? http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=347724

 

[jasonachord]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Thanks guys. I?m using my wife?s Kenmore machine she purchased years ago and has never learned how to use. I know they recommend using a commercial machine for vinyl but this one seams to be chugging through the material just fine. We?ll see how well it does once I start on the seats and I start sewing through 3 or 4 layers. Hopefully I won?t break it and have to buy her a new one, less money I could be spending on the boat. I didn?t want to drop a huge amount of money on vinyl since this is a practice run so I found some acceptable vinyl @ $8.00 a yard, only problem is it?s a little thinner than some more expensive material I?ve looked at. I?m kicking myself in the but now because they just opened a Joann?s fabrics near me and they are having a 50% off sale this weekend. The marine vinyl they sell would have been perfect.

I found the tread you mentioned when I first started considering taking this project on, great thread. I am going to use the hidden bolt idea from this thread rather than a screw with a button cap like what was used before, this should give me a cleaner look when finished.

I?ve been taking a little heat from the wife for working on the boat and not her laundry room remodel so I?ll be slow with updates but will keep you posted.

Thanks again for taking a look.

 

[Dzrtcj7]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Good luck. I'm interested in seeing how this works out for you. I'm contemplating on doing my upholstery myself as well.

 

[jasonachord]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Finally got the first side panel wrapped and installed. Next is the back seat and the passenger side panel.

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Lookin good! Nothing better than some will power and experimentation!
I think I am going to be attempting some upholstery projects soon on my boat...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

That looks pro.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Yea that does look pro, good colors too.

You's guys make it look so easy, I aint even know we could get stuff like this at JoAnn's, great lakes ripper is here in town but maybe JoAnnn's is better during a sale.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

jasonachord,\
Outstanding workmanship.
Bob

 

[jasonachord]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Finished upholstering the frame and back cushion of the rear bench seat today. Ended up with a few more wrinkles in the corners than I would like but all in all it did turn out better than I thought it would. I took some before pictures of the seat before I ripped it out and the kids accidentally deleted them playing with the camera . Still a lot more to get finished and the lake is calling!!

 

[trevtt600]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

That looks Fantastic!! You sure you have not done this before?? Great job!! Looking to do this to my wellcraft also.

 

[boatflipper]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Great work!!
For the bench seat, in the curve is it just tapered foam that makes it curve or?? I was looking at buying a new bench seat for my rebuild but after seeing yours, I wouldn't mind building a frame myself.
Thanks!

 

[sprintst]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Damn man. Looks good. I'd hire you to do my boat

 

[jasonachord]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

Thanks guys!!!

Boatflipper, the curves are built into the frame with 1/4 plywood bent to form the curves they cut into the top and bottom pieces of the frame. It is all covered in what almost looks like the white polyester batting like you buy from Wal-Mart but not as crapy. The original frame was in good shape so luckily I didn't have to rebuilt any of it, but it didn't look to hard to construct. The back cushion was originally attached with screws through the back, but I used T-nuts and bolts to make re-assembly a little smoother.

 

[TimmySRX]

Re: Reupholstering my interior in 92 Arrow Glass

You wouldn't happen to have pic's of the frame without the vinyl on it or just the shell? I would be curious to see how the rear bench seat back looked prior to being upholstered. Thanks,