Where to get boat seats reupholstered
None of the cushions were bigger than a few feet long. It was a beautiful boat when I was done. I had a upholstery friend do the back-to-back seats.
They were much better than before, but as you can see, there were some mistakes and puckers in them. Even still, the boat was a hit and sold immediately. This is why I am including these two videos on how to upholster a boat interior. Save this page and refer back to them as you go through your project. If sewing is too scary, you could try doing a design that allows for only stapling. I am good with this for side panels, but on boat seat cushions, it does have an issue besides the obvious lower quality look.
I will make a video showing this technique and place it here, but for now I am putting in another video to give you a rough idea of this staple method. This is just a short video, but this person has other videos showing bigger panels where he cuts the original vinyl for removal.
It just makes you work harder and the job looks worse in the end. Use each vinyl panel as a separate pattern to trace onto your new vinyl. It saves you from having to figure out the size and shape needed to make the project look right. The cushions will have more of a domed shape to them. The cost of marine vinyl can vary quite a bit. It just depends on your choice of material. I will say though, it really pays to make your boat stand out with a great design and higher end vinyl.
Especially when you have to do the entire interior. It is time consuming though, so plan your project for the off season of boating. There are plenty of online and physical locations selling marine vinyl, so look around. I have my own favorite place, but you may find something better for you. Be sure you order samples of your vinyl choices first.
Computer monitors are liars, lol. You can also find marine vinyl on Amazon also, but in this case I do like the great customer service I get from The Miami Corporation. It was cheaper, but it did actually look that way too. None of the pieces fitted up against the radius of the fencing the way the OEM stuff does. On my second pontoon boat I took all the interior out and brought it to a local upholstery shop.
It was more money for sure, but a way nicer finished product. It is taking some time but pretty easy. Dark colors will absorb heat so stick to lighter colors as the main color shade, possibly just keeping any darks for the secondary tone in strips and panels. Try to avoid deep grooves in the vinyl seats as it can tear over time. If you can, have them reinforce the seams to help with tearing.
With deeper grooves and pleats you will find it harder to keep the mold, mildew, and dirt out. It will make cleaning a lot harder you can read seat cleaning tips here. Earlier I mentioned that the foam aspect of boat seat reupholstering is optional, depending on the state of the foam.
In really bad cases, you might get a nasty surprise when you take the seats up and apart as the wood could have rotted through. The results and seams can be replicated better, but for most pontoon owners, you might not want to go that far. A professional upholsterer will use sewing, but they have sewing machines that can cost in the 4 figure range. If you are buying new seats or marine vinyl to do the job yourself, always opt for a UV resistant material.
Something else that will also help is to use Scotch Guard on the seats when they are brand new as this will help to keep the water out. To stop your new seats getting into the mess they got into before, I recommend regular cleaning.
You might also be able to save the seats and cushions you already have with the methods below, before embarking on a reupholster project. Buying new boat seats is expensive and having a professional upholstery company do it for you can sometimes cost even more money than teaching yourself how to recover boat seats yourself.
They are simple to replace though. This leads to boaters owning their boats longer and boat seats being exposed to the elements causing damage requiring repairs or replacing seats. Sooner or later your boat seats will need to be replaced. The only question is do you really want to try and fix them or purchase new ones to replace them.
In most situations, the cost to fix or reupholster your boat seats is nearly the same as buying new ones. Basically, boat owners have three options on fixing their damaged or worn out boat seats. The first is to purchase a repair kit and try to fix it yourself. The directions on the label make it seem like an easy task and you can repair holes, rips, tears, or burns. In reality, it takes a professional upholster to use the kit correctly. Most fabric will have, at a minimum, 1, hours approximately.
Typically, the more pricey the material, the more protection it will offer, and the longer it will last. Higher-quality materials, if you were to opt for such fabrics, would cost more. If you do choose to reholster the whole boat, some experts will typically advise setting up brand-new stereo and speakers at the same time given that the wires will be visible.
While optional, if you do want to set up a brand-new stereo, this can be an extra expense to think about. Make sure to keep your boat upholstery clean at all times. This will guarantee a longer life for your boat.
You need to also cover your boat when not in usage and winterize it in the off-season. Lakeside Canvas advises reholstering the whole boat as piecing together one seat at a time can cost a lot more in the long run due to the time needed; plus, the colors, when the job is done for each part, might not match as you imagined.