270 Sundancer 2000 cockpit upholstry replacement

[Brite Idea]

Hi to all, I'm new here.
I've read a few posts here and on other forums on the subject of reupholstering the cockpit cushions. It has come time to do mine. I figured it would be a good winter project. Anyway I contacted Searay and they dug up some drawings then sent them to me. The drawings showed me that the cushions were thru bolted. The first look told me this was not going to be easy. I pulled the speaker by the lounge and used a mirror and confirmed that they are thru bolted. The foward cushion is accessed through the cabin. I had to remove the cabinet and port window above it, the panel that is against the wall that covers the thru bolts is screwed in several places. I forgot step one is to remove the ceiling panel with the light and curtain. The tricky part of all of this was to go slow, I did a lot of careful looking before acting. I had to break one screw on the panel that covers the thru bolts, I took a pry bar and hit it with a hammer.
The long cushion is next and I haven't done it yet but I'll be cutting a long access below it to get to the thru bolts. When I'm done I'll fill the hole with one of those cubby storage boxes.
This job is not for the faint of heart but it'll be worth it in the end. The helm seat also has thru bolts but I have a twin engine boat so I have a big access where the shifters are. If you are going to attempt this and have questions e-mail me and I'll try to help.
When I do projects like this I wonder why but in the end it's always worth it.
Rob

 

[Pyrojodge]

Sounds like a great project... do you have any pictures?

 

[Brite Idea]

update:
instead of cutting an access panel I ended up removing the mirrored wall in the aft cabin which gave me access to the thru bolts. All the cockpit seating is now out for reupholstry(sp). When I'm ready to re-install I'll take pictures and post them. I took a lot of things apart so when I'm done hopefully there won't be to many left over screws.
Rob

 

[Loneranger]

Look forward to the pics. Sounds like an adventurous project. Are you doing the re-upholstery also or just the demolition?

Fortunately my vinyl is still in good shape but I know it may not stay that way forever. If you don't mind can you post or PM the drawings that searay sent you. I would like to file them for future use. They may also be useful during my winter's AV upgrade that I am doing.

John

 

[4sure]

I changed all the cockpit cushions and did not have to take apart that much of the interior. The only pain was the cushion on the port side, most forward. They put enough bolts in it to hold Godzilla in place! The job came out nice! I had a local guy make the cushions for me. What a great job, perfect project for the winter. You do not need any drawings from Sea Ray to do this job, just patience.

 

[Brite Idea]

update:
I called today to check on the progress of the upholstry and to my surprise they haven't even started yet. I'm now concerned that they might not be ready for spring. I'll give them until mid January and then I'll pull them and take them to another shop.
Rob

 

[4sure]

It does not take that long to make the replacement pieces if they have the old covers available. Don't take the parts to another shop yet, its not even winter! They will get slow during January and February and be able to complete your work.

 

[Pyrojodge]

4sure is right we still have 4 months or so and you took them to this shop for a reason... They now know you are after them so mayble this will put a little pep in their step... Good luck and can't wait to see pictures...

 

[Brite Idea]

January update:
I got a call on Friday that everything was finished. We had a little storm on Saturday so I wasn't able to pick up everything until today. I like what I see and will take pictures as I reassemble everything. Can someone please help me with posting pictures here?
Thanks!
Rob

 

[tdappleman]

Setup a photobucket account and then you can do the links from this site.

http://photobucket.com/

Once you upload your pictures then you can select the 'img' code and paste that into your text here.

It will look something like this: **IMG]http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm268/tdappleman/DSCN2806.jpg[/IMG**
But the img will have a bracket on the outside as well - removed here so the link will show.

Looking forward to seeing the pictures - need to finally pull the trigger on mine as well!

 

[Brite Idea]

update: we had a break in the weather so I started installing the cockpit upholstry. It's been a few months so I'm trying to remember how I took it apart. I'll take some pictures before I finish and try to post them.
Rob

 

[Loneranger]

I would love to see the pictures. thanks for sharing.

John

 

[Brite Idea]

Well I uploaded pictures and will now try to show them here. Ok it works. The pictures are not in order as I started taking pictures during reassembly but the pictures show important details like thru bolts and what to look for while disassembling. I'll try to answer questions and help where I can. Thans for looking.
Rob

http://s1166.photobucket.com/albums/q607/Sundancer2709408/

 

[Pyrojodge]

Looks great.. wanna come do mine?