Using neoprene foam instead of recovering the seats

[eou_edu]

So I just picked up a 1990 ski natique. It runs great but all the upholstery in it is shot. As I'm sure everybody knows upholstery doesn't come cheap. I also not a big fan of constantly thinking about your new upholstery: how other people are going to use it, what accidents can happen to tear it, how you take care of it, ect. It got me thinking about a possible alternative. You can buy rolls of adhesive back neoprene in various sizes and thicknesses up to 2" (which is the same thickness as the foam already on the seat cover.) Although it mostly comes in black I've seen some white up to 1/2" thick. It's waterproof and will likely last much longer than recovering the seats at a fraction of the price with less labor involved. Has anybody else ever just pulled out all your foam and covers and replaced it with neoprene foam?

 

[Scott Danforth]

coming from an upholstry shop background. wont work

coming from a user standpoint, will rip and stain

new vinyl is not that expensive in the grand scheme of boat ownership

 

[tpenfield]

Welcome to iBoats . . .

Regarding the Neoprene for seats . . . I've seen neoprene covers for seats . . . mostly an automotive thing made for certain seats. Basically a stretch-to-fit kind of a thing.

Not sure how you'd go about re-doing the seats with an adhesive backed neoprene, but let us know how it goes.

 

[eou_edu]

coming from an upholstry shop background. wont work

coming from a user standpoint, will rip and stain

new vinyl is not that expensive in the grand scheme of boat ownership

Expensive is relative. It's not really in my budget to spend $3000 on getting the seats recovered. But thanks for the advice on the neoprene.

 

[briangcc]

Then might I suggest a DIY project? @tpenfield just did his. Others on this forum have bought an industrial sewing machine capable of sewing multiple layers of vinyl and done it themselves with mighty impressive results.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Considering new seats for Mastercraft are over $3000 just for the two front helm seats, not including the $7000 for the remainder of the boat upholstery, $3k is not bad for a complete redo

I found a few small upholsterers that I used prior to working for TACO Seating. I did all the substrate and foam work, as well as the assembly (stapling/pulling/ect) myself

I just had them sew the skins. I think I had $600 in materials and about $600 in labor for the whole boat, including the cabin. Did get to buy a new pneumatic stapler

My neighbor used a mail-in place to make new skins. (you mail in the old vinyl, they make new skins and send back. ) I think his total was just shy of $2k, however that included 2 jet ski seats as well.

As Brian mentioned. many on this site have sewn their own. some use commercial units, some use old singer units.