Vinyl repair possible ??

[swatguy]

I’ve contacted the supplier for the matches to my boat and it looks like the source for the green piping is no longer bailable. This would require me to have to reskin almost all my seat bases to have an exact match. Not something I am looking at doing , but I am a bit ocd here and these two stress tears are just going to keep expanding. Any chance there is some kind of repair that may hold since it’s somewhat minor ?

[Nautiquehunter]

That happens on all of your vintage . Its a combination of poor material and seam cutting thread . I have replaced 5 lower seats on my 08 in the last few years. The factory wouldn't give me the material manufacture of product number even now that they don't make replacement skins after 10 years. Let me know if you get a source for the vinyl.

[bturner]

By 2005 most manufactures had resolved the issue created by ECO rules on vinyl. Reports of everything from needle size to stitch spacing and inferior materials had been blamed on issues like this. I had similar issues "resolved" by a local vinyl restoration/repair guy but ended up "chasing the rabbit" as more issues developed on different cushions primarily on the back lower seat cushions. The straw for me was when the sun lounger started going. At that point a combination of low hour usage by the family and the cost to tear it all out for a complete reskin convinced me to let the boat go. I made good on my statement that I would sell the boat if no one was going to use it and sold my 07 X2 in early 2019. This action was met by an immediate near revolt in the family for doing so. For me this actually worked out as I was able to get somewhat of a project boat that was 9 years newer from a local dealer with a complete new factory interior for about $5K more than if I had put a new interior in the previous boat.

In short my experience trying to deal with a situation such as yours ended up weighing the options of new interior versus different boat. After my first attempt at repair it was clear that even though the first repair looked good, I would end up in a situation of continued repairs or interior replacement. For me the answer was to get out while the getting was good and upgrade to another boat. If you can move your boat now I'm willing to bet the market will be much better next summer in say June or July. With everything going the way it is I think the boating market is going to get soft real soon. But that would be my personal thoughts and I could be completely wrong.

[swatguy]

That happens on all of your vintage . Its a combination of poor material and seam cutting thread . I have replaced 5 lower seats on my 08 in the last few years. The factory wouldn't give me the material manufacture of product number even now that they don't make replacement skins after 10 years. Let me know if you get a source for the vinyl.

I’ve contacted C and S marine. I have the vinyl “codes” for the color somewhere . The grey base is still available from their source as an exact match as are the different grey accents on the backrests ( notneeded , but I was curious). They sent me the swatch to compare.

[swatguy]

By 2005 most manufactures had resolved the issue created by ECO rules on vinyl. Reports of everything from needle size to stitch spacing and inferior materials had been blamed on issues like this. I had similar issues "resolved" by a local vinyl restoration/repair guy but ended up "chasing the rabbit" as more issues developed on different cushions primarily on the back lower seat cushions. The straw for me was when the sun lounger started going. At that point a combination of low hour usage by the family and the cost to tear it all out for a complete reskin convinced me to let the boat go. I made good on my statement that I would sell the boat if no one was going to use it and sold my 07 X2 in early 2019. This action was met by an immediate near revolt in the family for doing so. For me this actually worked out as I was able to get somewhat of a project boat that was 9 years newer from a local dealer with a complete new factory interior for about $5K more than if I had put a new interior in the previous boat.

In short my experience trying to deal with a situation such as yours ended up weighing the options of new interior versus different boat. After my first attempt at repair it was clear that even though the first repair looked good, I would end up in a situation of continued repairs or interior replacement. For me the answer was to get out while the getting was good and upgrade to another boat. If you can move your boat now I'm willing to bet the market will be much better next summer in say June or July. With everything going the way it is I think the boating market is going to get soft real soon. But that would be my personal thoughts and I could be completely wrong.

Yes the eco rules destroyed boat vinyl in early 2000’s. So many interiors on every mfg went to shiat so fast.


I hear ya. Boat prices are bananas at the moment. I own mine and my girls will be heading to college here shortly so usage is already declining. Grabbing up a payment for a newer rig ( which quite honestly would be 14 or above 210 ) just isn’t in the cards at the moment. I here you am d the market will level soon. With 210’s so rare and mine being ocd’d. I don’t mingle waiting for the leveling. If I could’ve gone boatless for a year or two and dumped mine for summer or two while waiting for the leveling I would’ve for sure . But trying to squeeze out the remainder of fun here while the girls can still take advantage so everyone summer counts.

[bturner]

Been there and am now on the other side of the paying for college challenge. Kind of crazy how life and family goes in cycles. I have 2 girls. When they were very young they loved being with me and wanted to hang out with me on the boat until about 12-14. That's when they realized they knew everything and that old people (especially their parents) were not cool or someone to be seen with. Time on the boat with them went through the floor. This flipped just as they were leaving HS and getting ready for college. They still knew everything but seemed to like us again. We spent a lot of time on the water then and throughout the college years when they were home on break. College ended, they got jobs and we ended right back to those 12 - 14 YO days again. They had jobs and were too busy with their new lives to be hanging around the old man on the boat. This time around I figured those days of being with the kids were over. Told everyone over Christmas that I would sell the boat since I couldn't see keeping a $40K boat for the 5 hours I used it the previous summer, no one said a word.

So the new year came along with spring and I kept to my word and sold that boat we owned for 9 years and had all those great memories with. I'm pretty much like you with the OCD, the boat was in excellent condition and had been upgraded continually throughout my ownership. Had it listed 2 days, got about 10 calls on it the first day it was listed and it sold for full asking to the first person to show up the second day of listing in a cash deal.

Word got out quick about the boat being gone. You'd of thought the world was coming to an end. The kids were texting and even resorted to, heavens forbid, calling in person to protest the sale. The wife even jumped in and demanded that we find another boat for that season which is how I ended up here with the 200 Sport.

To your point I would never had thought of selling that boat while the kids were still interested and we were able to spend time with them on it. The thing about spending time with your kids is that it's something you can't get back if you decline to spend it with them. Now that the kids are settled in their new lives they of course have other priorities but we still manage to spend at least 1 weekend day together on the boat each week during the boating season. As long as we're doing this I'll own this or another boat. The true value of our boat goes beyond it being a great toy to own. We see it more of a vehicle that brings us together whose value is far more to me than the cost of the boat will ever be. Something new to us in years and again part of the cycle, we'll be dropping the big buck for a weeklong rental house on Lake Leelanau. Looks like they'll be something for everyone there. There's quaint little cites for the girls to go shopping, a vineyard and the lake charts are showing long stretches' of deep water which should be great for surfing as well as narrow areas for morning slalom runs. This is something we haven't done or the girls were interested in doing with us in 15 years.

Sounds like you're where you need to be and will just have to learn to live with your "non perfect" boat until the right time comes in the cycle to adjust. Those small tears can be filled with some vinyl repair paste if you're into that or left until a more permanent solution can be found in the next cycle. Until then stay the course and enjoy your time with your family.

[SilentSeven]

Went through this on my 97. Age related problem. C&S Marine is likely your best option for factory replacements. They've been great to work with...not cheap and takes a while but they have great product. No 'repair' is possible. I tried the clear vinyl repair tape as a stopgap but had marginal results.

Sounds like you're doing all the right things.

For my boat, I just mentally went to a plan where I was replacing a few of the worst skins each season. Was budget friendly and kept the boat looking decent. Target the ones with the hardest vinyl as they are the most suspect. I also saved $ by learning how to install my own skins. It's not too hard to learn and you just need a few tools.

Good luck!

[FMSKI]

Mask off, the use some clear epoxy in the cut to stabilize. Then if there is a swatch or piece you can cut, go with that to the local paint store and get a match, or mix yourself : latex flat paint. Mask again fill the gap with several layers. Use a 3M pad to lightly buff the area when done then a good vinyl protectant.

Or look around for an auto/mobile vinyl repair guy and for a few $ they can fix.

[xrichard]

I had similar near-seam repairs done I really couldn't tell it had been repaired. But the person I used was incredibly skilled and very reasonable. She said she thought it'd last 24 months before becoming noticeable again. And, of course, I could expect other vinyl issues to pop up in the mean time. So, it can be repaired, but 1. it's a stop gap measure and 2. it isn't DIY.

[Chris Parsons]

That happens on all of your vintage . Its a combination of poor material and seam cutting thread . I have replaced 5 lower seats on my 08 in the last few years. The factory wouldn't give me the material manufacture of product number even now that they don't make replacement skins after 10 years. Let me know if you get a source for the vinyl.

Nautique used omnova back in 2007 and 2008 ish. After some quality control issues they swapped back to spradling..

Hope that helps

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