6 replies to this topic

[Archie]

I finally got tired of looking at the seams and fabric on the seats in my 2005 Sportster 4TEC SCIC just rot away for NO apparent reason other than normal use. I pulled the seats out - all four so I can make them all match - and I'm going to recover them using better materials and hopefully use as close to the original pattern as possible. What I've found after disassembly of the first seat is that I'm going to modify the seams just a little bit on the (4) backs of the seats and modify only two of the seams on the (4) bottoms. The cushion material is in great shape and I'm going to reuse it as it is.

I can see that the reason for the seams pulled apart on my seats is because there is too much of an airgap between the cushion fabric and the cushion itself. Every time you sit in the seat you are just pulling too much on those seams. I am going to:

• use a better grade of marine vinyl - pretty close to original colors - NO silver though. It's not a good color for fabric that is going to be in the sun. Went with dark grey; very light grey and yellow
• use a better grade of plastic barrier between the fabric and the cushion material for moisture proofing
• use fabric glue to secure the fabric to the cushion itself to eliminate the air gap
• eliminate the "screen" pieces on the upper and lower cushions for a little better design and easier to cover and fill the gaps with foam filler pieces
• put additional drain holes in the base of the seats for better drainage
• put drain holes in the hull area where the seats mount to eliminate the standing water below the seats

I will post pictures of the process as I go along. We do repairs on upholstery and do canvas work in our shop and hope to offer the recovering of these type of seats as one of our services.

Wish me luck

Archie

[Kevin Leclair]

Best of luck! Looking forward to seeing the pictures and progress!

[Archie]

I removed and recovered the (4) seats and should have them installed this week. I'll post the pictures after they are installed. Did the modifications to the cushions and did not even realize that they would look VERY similar to the new 2010 Speedster seat cushions. I had not seen the new style seats until I went to the Chicago Boat Show last Wednesday. The colors I used match the HydroTurf coloring and overall I am VERY pleased with the results!! These seats were extremely hard to recover with the changes I did but well worth the effort. Instead of riveting the little insert pad (GREY cushion) into the base of the seat, I installed VELCRO where the insert sits down in the base cushion now I am able to remove the lower seat cushions quickly and easily. I installed (2) clips in the forward part of each of the lower seat cushion mount area like the Center seat and SCREWED the rear of the lower seat cushion (in the VELCROed section) to the fiberglass underneath. Also drilled drain holes below the seats so there isn't the problem of standing water anymore!!

Keep looking - should have the pictures on here by the end of this coming week.

The modifications I did to the boat are:

1. Recovered the (4) seats
2. Installed ICOM DSC/VHF radio and antenna system
3. Installed 2nd Interstate Series 24 D/Cycle Battery with tray
4. Replaced the existing Battery switch with NEW 3 position 1/2/ALL Battery switch
5. Installed 2 Bank Battery charger system
6. Installed Marinco 15Amp shore power plug receptacle on S/B side of hull for battery charger power
7. Installed additional support cylinder on driver's hatch door for better support
8. Filled the forward section of the driver's hatch door at the hinge area with Resin for added strength; repaired the stress cracks; and repainted (Yellow) the door assembly
9. Installed a Raymarine ST40 Depth System in boat. Installed the display in the wall area between the forward and aft facing seats on the Port side of the boat (everyone can see the display - sometimes 2 sets of eyes are better!!) and installed the transom mount depth transducer so it is inhull in the engine compartment.
10. Installed NEW HydroTurf floor material (Dark Grey) - Looks GREAT!!
11. Removed the entire rub rail, resealed the joint, installed SS SCREWS in the joint and used SS SCREWS to attach the rub rail and insert piece - NO MORE sheared rivets!!

[Kevin Leclair]

Awesome, sounds like a lot of great modifications! I am really looking forward to the pics!

[Archie]

Here are pictures of the projects that i did on the Sportster this winter. Overall, I am pleased with the results and I will feel a bit more confident traveling around like we do with this boat.

Picture listing:

1. There are (3) pictures of the seats - a couple of wrinkles but no big deal. Definitely alot more durable!!
2. There are (3) pictures of the second battery installation and 3 position Master Switch (1/2/All/Off)
3. There are (3) pictures of the VHF Radio and antenna system installation
4. A picture of the NEW HydroTurf installation
5. Finally - pictures of the external Shore Power connection for the battery charger

I haven't reinstalled the driver's hatch door yet. The paint wasn't ready

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[Kevin Leclair]

Good work, all of it looks awesome!

[UPTHECREEK]

Thanks for sharing. It all looks great. Gave me some ideals..........