What Board on Upholstered Cockpit Panels

lawndoctor

lawndoctor

Active Member
Jun 5, 2008
655
Baltimore & Philadelphia
Boat Info
2014 Princess 56 Fly & 2002 Sea Ray 225 Weekender
Engines
MAN R6 800s & Bravo III 5.0L
The mesh material on the cockpit upholstery panels that cover the speakers is mildewed and rotting so I am recovering the panels. I was able to pry them off without breaking the Christmas tree fasteners, but I broke the backer board on one of the panels and will need to make a new one. It is a lightweight white plastic material about 1/2” thick, looks like it would be easy to saw and router. Does anyone know what that stuff is? I’d like to use the same material as OEM. Thanks in advance.
 
lawndoctor said:
Does anyone know what that stuff is? I’d like to use the same material as OEM. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I removed and replaced all of my cockpit panels earlier this year. I used standard PVC (Versatek or Azek) .5” x 8 boards. For two panels, I had to edge-glue two pieces to achieve the proper width. Marine vinyl and stainless staples were used to re-cover. I replaced the Christmas tree fasteners and Velcro with stainless through-screwed fasteners.

For reasons of recurring mildew and food-spatter from the grill area, I did not use the Sunbrella-over-foam fabric. I eased the pvc edges using a round-over bit before applying the vinyl.

Probably one of the most aesthetic-improving boat projects I’ve done in awhile...

uc

uc
 
Last edited:
stephenm27 said:
I removed and replaced all of my cockpit panels earlier this year. I used standard PVC (Versatek or Azek) .5” x 8 boards. For two panels, I had to edge-glue two pieces to achieve the proper width. Marine vinyl and stainless staples were used to re-cover. I replaced the Christmas tree fasteners and Velcro with stainless through-screwed fasteners.

For reasons of recurring mildew and food-spatter from the grill area, I did not use the Sunbrella-over-foam fabric. I eased the pvc edges using a round-over bit before applying the vinyl.

Probably one of the most aesthetic-improving boat projects I’ve done in awhile...

uc

uc
Click to expand...

That is a nice job.

MM
 
stephenm27 said:
I removed and replaced all of my cockpit panels earlier this year. . . . . I replaced the Christmas tree fasteners and Velcro with stainless through-screwed fasteners. . . . . I eased the pvc edges using a round-over bit before applying the vinyl.
Click to expand...

Nice work, looks great. So you covered the panels in vinyl, and then screwed them in place. What type of screw covers are those?
 
lawndoctor said:
Nice work, looks great. So you covered the panels in vinyl, and then screwed them in place. What type of screw covers are those?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words! Wish I would have done it sooner rather than fight the mildew on the dingy OEM panels for several seasons.

Yes...white marine vinyl from local fabric store directly over the PVC. I decided against any adhesive and simply relied on light tension as the staples (pneumatic narrow stapler) installed on the backside.

The screw covers are from Home Depot. They are a washer under the head of the screw with an attached plastic snap cap. Very inexpensive and easy to replace if need arises. Also available in beige and black if I remember correctly. As an alternative there are some interesting stainless steel magnetic screw covers on amazon that I almost tried. They looked good but decided I didn’t really like the visual attention they drew to the screws (that weren’t previously there anyway).

Previously my OEM cockpit speakers were mounted behind the “mildew farm” fabric. I opted to surface mount them so as not to have to continue with the mesh fabric.
 
Very nice work. My panels are plywood backed and are ready to be replaced.

Can you comment a bit more on: "edge-glue two pieces to achieve the proper width"?

I found a source (84 Lumber) that sell 1/2" Azek 4' wide sheets in 8', 10' and 12' lengths.

Also, was your original vinyl foam backed?
 
I’m thinking of making the panels in the same configuration as they came OEM, except with Velcro instead of the Christmas tree things, and using this speaker grille cloth in light tan where the white mesh stuff was. https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/acoustone-speaker-grille-cloth/ Someone on the forum did this same project a few years ago and it turned out great, but unfortunately I can’t find the thread using the search function.
 
PlayDate said:
Very nice work. My panels are plywood backed and are ready to be replaced.

Can you comment a bit more on: "edge-glue two pieces to achieve the proper width"?

I found a source (84 Lumber) that sell 1/2" Azek 4' wide sheets in 8', 10' and 12' lengths.

Also, was your original vinyl foam backed?
Click to expand...

I had to edge-glue two 1/2" x 8" x 6' pieces of the PVC trim I had on-hand to make a couple of the panels due to their width. If I had a 4' x 8' PVC sheet in the shop at the time, I would have used it and avoided the glue-up process. I was also mildly concerned about the joint but did a test and was very happy to see the material break before the glue joint did. All gluing was done using standard PVC solvent cement and a couple clamps. Besides the materials differing, just like you'd glue up a small table top...then I used the originals to trace a template on to the blanks. A little bandsaw, jigsaw, and router-ing and they were ready for covering.

The original vinyl was indeed foam-backed. The Sunbrella fabric insets (over the speaker areas) was Sunbrella fabric with separate foam sandwiched behind it presumably to maintain a consistent "fluffiness" with the adjacent foam-backed vinyl sections. In a nod toward simplicity, I did not attempt to make welting and attach to the panels' perimeter edges. To my eye, the cleaner lines on the edges are more appealing, not to mention a bit easier to clean.

Hope this helps...
 
Last edited:
lawndoctor said:
I’m thinking of making the panels in the same configuration as they came OEM, except with Velcro instead of the Christmas tree things, and using this speaker grille cloth in light tan where the white mesh stuff was. https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/acoustone-speaker-grille-cloth/ Someone on the forum did this same project a few years ago and it turned out great, but unfortunately I can’t find the thread using the search function.
Click to expand...

My only concern with continuing to use velcro was finding adhesive that was strong enough to adhere to the fiberglass arch for the long-term. My OEM velcro had already failed in a couple places. Add in a couple of panel removals and I had very little velcro left on the arch (it was stapled on the backside of the panel).

Are you sewing up the panels with the mesh? I have no sewing skills :-(.
 
MonacoMike said:
I have not seen the flip cap style used in boats before. I prefer the round head style as it looks like it has a much deeper connection to stay in place.

MM
Click to expand...

I'm gonna save your link in case I have issues with these. They made it through the season without any issues, but we all know anything on a boat can go from "great" to "broken" in a heartbeat...
 
stephenm27 said:
My only concern with continuing to use velcro was finding adhesive that was strong enough to adhere to the fiberglass arch for the long-term. My OEM velcro had already failed in a couple places. Add in a couple of panel removals and I had very little velcro left on the arch (it was stapled on the backside of the panel).

Are you sewing up the panels with the mesh? I have no sewing skills :-(.
Click to expand...

There are four panels. Two are attached by Velcro and two by those Christmas things. The Velcro holds the panels in tightly, I’ve never had a problem with them coming loose, and at the same time they are not difficult to remove. The Velcro they used is thick and heavy, and you have to pound on the panels a bit to get it to hold, but once it does it’s solidly in place. Those Christmas things suck.

I do electrical, plumbing, fiberglass, and gel coat, and I can staple vinyl upholstery into place, but upholstery sewing is beyond my skill set. I have an upholstery guy nearby who did a fantastic job on the panels for our old boat, so I’m going to have him do the work on this project. Just need to set him up with the right materials.
 
You might check the Sailrite website they have alot of the fabrics for boats and some great videos on doing different projects. I have ordered alot of fabric from them along with other items and they do a great job of shipping fast and are priced fairly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,118
Messages
1,426,529
Members
61,035
Latest member
Lukerney
Back
Top