48 Sundancer Modifications Part II

floriduramax1 said:
We buy these and re-upholster to match our interiors in buses. They are pricey but very comfortable. I'm also a dealer so quite a discount! Check out all the styles....

Thanks for the feedback. Exactly the kind of reply I was looking for? What average cost of one chair?
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I won't comment on the decor/functionality since everyone has his own needs, besides, you wrote the check for the boat, so you should do as you please if it doesn't fit you. I think our job should be to help you achieve your goals. To that end, take a look at Flexsteel's line of marine and RV seating:

http://www.flexsteel.com/vehicle-seating/products/marine-seating/below-deck-lounge-seating

I've seen it used in several high end Bertram, Hattaras and custom do-overs and it is extremely well made and very will done. It doesn't look like Bubba's travel trailer leave overs and can be ordered with about any covering under the sun, even to match the existing white vinyl. Best of all it represents a good value at a reasonable price.
 
fwebster said:
I won't comment on the decor/functionality since everyone has his own needs, besides, you wrote the check for the boat, so you should do as you please if it doesn't fit you. I think our job should be to help you achieve your goals. To that end, take a look at Flexsteel's line of marine and RV seating:


Frank,

thanks for your comments. I have been all over Flexsteel's website. Great stuff. You would know if anyone would know this, does Sea Ray make their furniture or do they get someone like FlexSteel to make furniture for them? I would imagine there is a trade off between being ridgid enough to withstand the abuses that furniture takes in a marine environment and being comfortable. Just don't see anyting on the FlexSteel website that seems comfortable for long periods of time. I use my boat as a condo on the water. Me and couple guys make a point to get together and watch "an officer and and a movie" on the military channel every Sat. and even for two hours or so sitting in the helm seat does not cut it. I will probably take all the good points that I find on websites and from posters and build my own built in couch. Probably will just keep it white. Maybe some of the new confortable sunbrella that a couple posters have written about. I really like what Four Suns did with the Sunbrella. It looks great, just needs to be comfortable. Thanks again for the comment.
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I have been using Flex steel stuff for many years. Some of their stuff is not up to par in quality for a boat application. Their electric sofas...junk! Their recliners...junk! Now if it price you are after, they are your company. We order Flexsteels passenger seat for our remodels and then we gut it, widen it and add more steel without so much "flex"....lol Most lower line RV's use Rlexsteel and upper lines use Villa International out in California. Mike at Villa does a great job. I think Flex Steel just got like everybody else and they let their bottom line dictate the quality...IMHO. They might do ok for a "sectional" but don't make it recline as it won't last long ;(
 
" upper lines use Villa International out in California. Mike at Villa does a great job" .

Exactly what I was looking for. thanks my friend. this is why I started this thread in the first place. I knew there would be someone on here that would know what i was looking for. Villa International is right on the money. I am going to go with a White vinyl love seat with a double wide armrest in the middle if that makes sense. Kind of like the double home theatre chairs without the big console in the middle. thanks again.
 
The seats in an RV are soooooo much more comfortable than in our boats. I would love to adapt an RV driver's seat to my boat or have a good furniture guy create a more comfortable chair for the captain. I also consider changing the cockpit seating but not to the extreme of tearing it out and putting couches in. I am more into recovering with Sunbrella and replacing the padding with a more robust and comfortable pad. This is where we spend most of our time while on the boat so we want to make it as comfortable as possible. I have only seen pictures of a Sundancer (I believe a 510DA) with Sunbrella fabric in the aft cockpit so I am planning on taking a ride up to where this boat is so I can see it up close.
 
Morgan....I will just throw this out.....Why not get two 4 " blocks of closed cell foam and and have it sewn into a nice wide stripped sunbrella fabric that fits the horizontal (bottom) and vertical (backrest)....So it does not move, attach snaps to boat and fabric......If you need access to whatever is underneath or on the back, just unsnap.........Live with it for a season and you might find you like or dont like........I bet a dog would love it.........Yacht type sailboats do this all the time and it is nice....just a thought...
 
wetpaint said:
Morgan....I will just throw this out.....Why not get two 4 " blocks of closed cell foam and and have it sewn into a nice wide stripped sunbrella fabric that fits the horizontal (bottom) and vertical (backrest)....So it does not move, attach snaps to boat and fabric......If you need access to whatever is underneath or on the back, just unsnap.........Live with it for a season and you might find you like or dont like........I bet a dog would love it.........Yacht type sailboats do this all the time and it is nice....just a thought...
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Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought about that. This would be very helpfull to actually see if this is how I want to utilized the boat cockpit.

The real reason I am having this issue is two fold. The first issue is that I have a drop curtain in place 99% of the time and I have two main reasons for this. The number one reason that I prefer the drop curtain down is being able to condition the air. I don't really like the wind in the face feel, I guess the same reason I don't like riding in convertible cars. I like being in an enclosed cockpit. However, it gets very hot in an enclosed cockpit very quickly. So the AC has to be on at all times. The second reason I like the Drop Curtain down is that it blocks out 80% of the noise that is usually associated with open air boating. I find it very enjoyable to have normal voice level conversations when doing 30mph down the Potomac River. It is just what I like.

The second part of the issue I have is that when the drop curtain is down, it cuts right thru the middle of the U-shaped Sette leaving the part of the Sette on the inside not being able to be used. The only seats to use then are the double helm seat arrangement that rotates 90 degrees and this double helm seat is not comfortable for sitting in long periods of time.

So I just decided to remove the section of the Sette that can't be used and remove the companion half of the rotating helm assembly. This leaves me an area where I can install a 6 foot couch. Even though some theatre style reclining seating is the way I want to go, I think it would look cheap. I am just going to get Villa International to build a very comfortable vinyl couch that is very similar in style to the existing vinyl pads and the existing captains chair. There is a certain functionality that I want but it also has to not look out of place. At any time if I get tired of the couch, I can just take it out, take out the extended platform, put back the half of the sette I took out and put the companion helm chair back in place. So far, nothing I have done is permanent. It can all be switched back in a day or so.
 
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I am thinking something like this...you could creat a sette however you would like.......some nice throw pillows and it would be really nice.........merry christmas and great boat....
 
I know this is a little off your original plan and doesn't address the seating issue, but you mentioned your drop curtain coming down in the middle of the settee and blocking off some of the seating. Have you considered have a high quality camper canvas made that extents to the transom and has full isinglass all around the cockpit? I've seen these done very well on 420's and they looked great. Not sure how they'd translate to a 48 though and whether that much isinglass would let in too much heat for the A/C to handle.
 
copb8tx said:
I know this is a little off your original plan and doesn't address the seating issue, but you mentioned your drop curtain coming down in the middle of the settee and blocking off some of the seating. Have you considered have a high quality camper canvas made that extents to the transom and has full isinglass all around the cockpit? I've seen these done very well on 420's and they looked great. Not sure how they'd translate to a 48 though and whether that much isinglass would let in too much heat for the A/C to handle.
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I have thought about that but there are more negatives than positives. The first one is just the look. I really like the lines of the 48 and the camper back would just kill it. Just my opinion though. If the boat was a bit smaller I think the trade off on the look is worth the space gained. However, with the drop curtain down, there is plenty of room inside the drop curtain. Much different set up than what is on a 42 or a 44 Sundancer. The second reason is I still have an 11 year old boy and a 13 year old boy who love jumping off the side of the boat over and over. The camper would get in the way. I also like being able to just pop outside the drop curtain, go up two stairs and I am walking up the side. The camper back would get in the way. Again, one man's opinon. The third reason is it is just too much volume for the AC to effectively handle. So the drop curtain is the way to go in my opinion. The only issue I have with this and this is true of any boat with canvas is that it is annoying to me to pass thru the vetical canvas panels when you go in and out of the boat. Therefore this winter, I am going to modify the center panel of the drop curtain to open as a sliding door. That way it can just be pushed out of the way and left open if you want to. The panels to either side of the center panel will be semi permanent. It will all still look like a canvas drop curtain though. thanks for your response.
 
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