Vinyl and seam repair

Jan 26, 2018
32
Boat Info
2000 searay sundancer 340
Engines
Mercruiser 7.4 MPI
Hello SC owners,

I have blown out the seam on the passenger bench beside the captain on my 2000 340 Sundancer. The rest of the material is in fine shape. Does anyone have any experience with repairing this? I have started reaching out to local repair places but not having much luck getting people to reply.

Any advice, suggestions, or guidance would be much appreciated!

Thank you,
RW
20181202_092831 (1).jpg

20181202_092831.jpg
 
IMG_2098.JPG
Do a search for a Fibrenew (franchise) leather and plastic restoration expert in your geographic location. Our local service did a repair of a similar problem with our 370 Express seats and it was invisible to the eye unless you knew exactly where to look. Took approximately 1 hour to do the work and the cost was about $100. That was 16 years ago. We had another repair done to a cockpit bolster where a line rubbed a nick in the upholstery and it was the same price and also took about an hour. Again, invisible to the eye. Your result will depend upon the skill of franchise owner, but these guys are pretty good in my experience.
 
View attachment 63002 Do a search for a Fibrenew (franchise) leather and plastic restoration expert in your geographic location. Our local service did a repair of a similar problem with our 370 Express seats and it was invisible to the eye unless you knew exactly where to look. Took approximately 1 hour to do the work and the cost was about $100. That was 16 years ago. We had another repair done to a cockpit bolster where a line rubbed a nick in the upholstery and it was the same price and also took about an hour. Again, invisible to the eye. Your result will depend upon the skill of franchise owner, but these guys are pretty good in my experience.

I have used similar repair services with great success. Well worth the money.
 
From what I see it looks like your vinyl is cracking. This is typically indicative of the plasticizers drying out in the vinyl. If that is the case then you may be looking at recovering the piece as the vinyl continues to get brittle the problem will spread.

Also to restitch the opening you would need to lift the vinyl and sew from behind. Once you get that far in you might as well put fresh vinyl on. I ran into this on my 260DA when I still had her. It started like yours and about a year later it looked like below.
IMG_20150412_192802152.jpg
The only good thing is after the job was complete it looked like below:
260DA - Cockpit.jpg

I am not sure about the process that @sbw1 mentioned, but if you have any questions about my job please feel free to ask.

-Kevin
 
IMG_2098.JPG
View attachment 63016
From what I see it looks like your vinyl is cracking. This is typically indicative of the plasticizers drying out in the vinyl. If that is the case then you may be looking at recovering the piece as the vinyl continues to get brittle the problem will spread.
Also to restitch the opening you would need to lift the vinyl and sew from behind. Once you get that far in you might as well put fresh vinyl on. I ran into this on my 260DA when I still had her. It started like yours and about a year later it looked like below.
View attachment 63013
The only good thing is after the job was complete it looked like below:
View attachment 63014

I am not sure about the process that @sbw1 mentioned, but if you have any questions about my job please feel free to ask.
-Kevin

Google Fibrenew of west Michigan. Their website has photos of before and after projects. These companies can do impressive repairs. It is a bit like going to a surgeon. You need to go to a good one for a good result. Local references are important.
 
You can repair that with a curved needle using a blind stitch without disassembly. If there isn't enough material to stretch, heat the area with a heat gun or hair drier and use your hands to slightly stetch the material. Use the curved needle to stitch it back together. If the vinyl is too old and brittle, it may be a lost cause.
 
As a fabricator, I have made repairs like this many times before. KevinC is correct in his statement above. Fixing this seam is only a temporary solution as the vinyl has begun to deteriorate and is approaching its end of useful life. The repair may last a season or three, there is really no way to tell what useful life is left in the material. Additionally, this repair is labor intensive as the entire cushion needs to come off of the seat, seam carefully taken apart to avoid further damage, stretch and restitch that seam (provided the material is not so deteriorated there is not suitable material to sew), and re-stretched and stapled back to the seat base. The cost to recover with new material would really only be the cost of the new vinyl material which is not expensive. My opinion, FWIW, would be to recover. If you plan to recover the entire interior in the next couple of years and only need a stop gap repair on this until then, $200 should cover the cost of the temporary fix to this cushion.
 
Since the vinyl is deteriorating like Kevin and gdavis have indicated:
If you decide that you want to put the money towards recovering later rather than attempting a repair now, and you are looking for a temporary stop gap measure just to keep it from separating further, try some “Loctite Vinyl, Plastic and Fabric Flexible Adhesive” along the separated seam to keep it from spreading and seal it. That should hold it together for a while.
 
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View attachment 63018 View attachment 63016

Google Fibrenew of west Michigan. Their website has photos of before and after projects. These companies can do impressive repairs. It is a bit like going to a surgeon. You need to go to a good one for a good result. Local references are important.

They can do this but the root issue is the material is dead and this is the first majorly visible indicator. This is the classic question, him much for temporary repairs vs. a new job. We chose the new job.

MM
 
The PO of our motorhome put a good sized gash in the driver's seat with the slide out and the repair looked like someone took a tube of silicone and squirted it into the void. I called a local vinyl repair franchise and the guy was great. The repair turned out awesome, so I asked if he had more time available and took him down to the boat for some minor repairs...
 
Are “motorhome bucks” the same as “boat bucks”??

I like to tell the story of our friends, in 1986 they were choosing between a $18,000 230 Weekender or a travel trailer at the same price. A 230 with cabin is now $150k+ new but you can still buy a travel trailer for $20k. LOL

MM
 
IMG_2098.JPG
The PO of our motorhome put a good sized gash in the driver's seat with the slide out and the repair looked like someone took a tube of silicone and squirted it into the void. I called a local vinyl repair franchise and the guy was great. The repair turned out awesome, so I asked if he had more time available and took him down to the boat for some minor repairs...

People who have not seen a good repair tech do his thing write this approach off without having first hand knowledge of the quality of the repair. I know for a fact that there are brand new boats in show rooms that have been repaired in the factories where they were built and needed to be touched up before shipment. Luxury autos , same thing.
 
IMG_2098.JPG
I like to tell the story of our friends, in 1986 they were choosing between a $18,000 230 Weekender or a travel trailer at the same price. A 230 with cabin is now $150k+ new but you can still buy a travel trailer for $20k. LOL

MM
A brand new 42' Bertram sport fisher cost $150,000 in 1977. It was a hell of a good sea boat when Lake Michigan kicked up. 21 knots in just about anything without pounding.
 
View attachment 63033
A brand new 42' Bertram sport fisher cost $150,000 in 1977. It was a hell of a good sea boat when Lake Michigan kicked up. 21 knots in just about anything without pounding.

And they cost what now? I was trying to show that RV's are often made from smoke and mirrors and a boat must be made of substance to survive the marine life.

MM
 
And they cost what now? I was trying to show that RV's are often made from smoke and mirrors and a boat must be made of substance to survive the marine life.

MM

I wouldn't say smoke or mirrors. The RV industry has all different price points for the same style of unit. Everything from Bayliner to Bertram to Princess etc. The biggest differences are wall construction and finishes. Wall construction for a full time unit is different than a weekend unit. Past that, typical class A vehicles are all built on the same chassis from manufacturer to manufacturer.
 
View attachment 63032

People who have not seen a good repair tech do his thing write this approach off without having first hand knowledge of the quality of the repair. I know for a fact that there are brand new boats in show rooms that have been repaired in the factories where they were built and needed to be touched up before shipment. Luxury autos , same thing.

I was not intending to detract from the possibility of a good repair. I was trying to offer insight that these are the signs that the vinyl might be reaching the end of it's useful life. If that is the case then further issues can arise outside of the repair like the ones I showed on my vinyl seats.

Unfortunately it will take a hands on investigation to determine if the vinyl is really drying out. It's not just a matter of years but also how the vinyl was treated.

Too many owners will throw caustic chemicals like bleach at the vinyl to try to brighten it up for a sale. Many times if they soak it with bleach it will break down the vinyl and the thread.

-Kevin
 
IMG_2098.JPG
I was not intending to detract from the possibility of a good repair. I was trying to offer insight that these are the signs that the vinyl might be reaching the end of it's useful life. If that is the case then further issues can arise outside of the repair like the ones I showed on my vinyl seats.

Unfortunately it will take a hands on investigation to determine if the vinyl is really drying out. It's not just a matter of years but also how the vinyl was treated.

Too many owners will throw caustic chemicals like bleach at the vinyl to try to brighten it up for a sale. Many times if they soak it with bleach it will break down the vinyl and the thread.

-Kevin

Yes. People do that. I was simply suggesting that there is money to be saved by using a professional repair service that has the skills to fix things that look unfixable. My 370 Express had a seam that let loose after 5-6 years from wear. The franchise I recommended repaired it by adding new vinyl dyed to match the factory original color including a new seam. I was amazed that it held up for the time I owned the boat which was another 4-5 years. If you have a similar problem, these services are at least worth consideration. The times I have used them, they have delivered repairs that were invisible to the eye, and they were down right cheap.
 
Some of the repair guys are excellent. Especially the guys who regularly service car dealerships and rental companies.
That being said, they still can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Probably best to have a pro inspect it in person and get their opinion before spending money.
Honestly though, from looking at the picture, it looks like the rest of the seams aren’t far behind and it may be time to start considering new vinyl. Maybe consider recovering at least that particular piece
But you never know.
Did that two years ago on my kids 18’ Bowrider. The whole vinyl interior really needs replacing, but one cushion was worse that others so I had just the one piece recovered. It bought me two more seasons for a boat that I don’t really want to put the money in to redoing all the vinyl in.
Don’t think I can hold out too much longer though.
 

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