Opinions Needed

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:09 pm

Ok as most of y'all know for the past 2 years i have slowly been restoring my 1993 190 Horison. And the last thing to be updated is the interior upholstery. It is 21 years old and ORIGINAl. It is overall in DECENT shape but the stitching is dry rotted and a good amount of the seams have busted. The wife and I this summer have been noticing more and more broken seams and have decided that this winter the interior needs to be redone.

I redid the interior of our camper and sewed all of the upholstery, drapes, couch, privacy curtains, window Vailances. so i have the skills to make it happen. As those that have seen my build thread know i am fairly handy. http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11136

With a first mate (little boy) due at the end of November '14, i do not want the sharp ruff jagged edges exposed at the broken seams and sun cracks that we simply deal with at present.

From what i have found i have the "SPORT" interior layout. dual captains chairs. rear sun pad. rear bench seat with pull out 2nd sun pad. Now i know what you are thinking. "Sweet 2 big ass sun pads for bikini clad half naked girls to lay out on." well yes. but the interior pullout one takes up most of the cockpit space and that is where the beach cooler goes. plus we have used it 1-2 times in the past 2.5 years.

MY THOUGHTS

- Build the factory style bow inserts.
- pull carpet and inspect, replace if needed, and roll on gelcot on the interior floor in and out sealing it nice and weather tight.
- recover the captains seats
- rebuild the base wood of the bow seats and new upholstery.

The THEORY. the rear opening bow mounted hinges on the bench seat back. bothers the piss out of me. Because i have to walk over the pad to the swim deck and open the hatch to access the master power switch and any work not he motor while on the water. It is a pain opening and closing to go to the gauges and such working solo. I also open my hatch at the ramp wight he blower on i feel that the more gasses escaping the safer. SECOND headache LITERALLY is working on the front side of the engine where the belts are you cannot see anything because the backrest of the bench seat and the hinge of the sun pad hatch. With this said I would love to reverse the hinges to the stern bulkhead like most IO setups are.

With the pad hatch reversed i feel kneeling in the bench seat to do mechanical work and easily access the starter key and visually see gauges will make life much nicer. This will also allow me to perform MODIFICATION #2. removal of the unused slide out extra sun pad. And allow for access to the dead space under this bench seat that is waisted storage. I would box the base and have a hinged fold forward bench base cushion. Modification #3 Here is where things get functional. I will have a slide in (in a notch track) removable center back support that i can remove to access the belts and pullies along with easy access to the accessories mounted to the front of the motor.

I invasion with the rear opening hatch and center section open that i will have a much easier mechanical time working on the motor when belts and plugs need to be addressed. While gaining more interior storage space.

i have 2 option ideas. A) full beam storage compartment. B) 2 sealed compartments one on each side and one in the middle that the cooler can slide into.

The big question as this is not a collectors boat will i loose any brand value by making these changes along with a more modern upholstery simplified stitching pattern..

PLEASE let me know all ideas.. and thoughts.. at the end of the month i will be taking detailed measurements for the rear seating and hatch configuration as i feel that this is a smart addition..

Thanks as always for all inputs..

ThaScoobs · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:51 pm

I would get rid of the unused sun pad. Storage is everything to me. I love having a large empty space under my back bench for all of the items we bring on the boat for the day. I like your idea for 2 sealed compartments on each side and 1 in the middle for the cooler. My boat is set up that way and I love it. Sounds like you have some great ideas.

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 3:26 pm

Personally I hate anything that gets in the way of doing maintenance, so I'd set it up so it works for you. On mine I also had the sunsport seating with the very heavy bench seat and the heavy bulkhead that was the back of the seat. What I did to mine was get rid of all that and make a new bulkhead but cut it in half with a take apart hinge in the middle. Then I used 2 36" benches for a pontoon boat that matched the interior. Each can be removed separately and you can open the bulkhead like a door. My swimpad always hinged at the rear. Here is a schematic pic of what I did...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pz3pzuz8kuvm ... kheads.jpg

And the actual set up....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lfs7ioudwrnknbx/boat2a.jpg

mflickin · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:42 pm

I am new to this forum, but I recently redid some interior work on a 1996 Horizon. I could not do the stitching like you can so I had a person do it. He recommended using UV thread in all of the stitching, and I agreed. I would also recommend that to you. It sounds like you want to do it right.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:10 pm

I never heard of UV thread, but the correct threading to use is Gore Tenara.
http://www.gore.com/en_xx/products/fibe ... tdoor.html

Also, while you're at it use the best vinyl. Nautolex's Grand Cayman lineup.
https://www.omnova.com/products/marineU ... ayman.aspx

Once you install that, never worry about it again. Get's mildewed? No problem. Wash it down with bleach. Won't harm it a bit, not like the old days. Virtually all new boats come standard with Tenara thread and Nautolex. Well, not bayliner.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:21 pm

I have a big comercial spool of UV thread from past boat projects over the years.

Ric both products that you recommended I have been looking at using. And yes I am a strong believer of "do it right, do it once"

I have about 20 color samples from 5 brands of materials in my night stand net to my bed, and carpet samples.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:45 am

Tanara is chemical proof, so you can wash your boat every week with bleach to make the vinyl look perfect and the stitching will never come apart.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:01 am

ric wrote:

I
Also, while you're at it use the best vinyl. Nautolex's Grand Cayman lineup.
https://www.omnova.com/products/marineU ... ayman.aspx

Once you install that, never worry about it again. Get's mildewed? No problem. Wash it down with bleach. Won't harm it a bit, not like the old days. Virtually all new boats come standard with Tenara thread and Nautolex. Well, not bayliner.

Once again total BS. You should NOT use bleach on Nautolex marine vinyl, nor should you use any solvents, vinyl protectant or conditioners.
Here is their recommendations.
https://www.omnova.com/products/marineu ... struct.pdf

And just a few ABA builders use Nautolex marine vinyl on their boats.
Those are:
Chaparral Boats, Inc
Cobalt Boats
Nautique
Godfrey Marine
Grady-White Boats
Monterey Boats
Regal Marine Industries
Rinker Boat Company, Inc.
Tiara
Pursuit
Stingray Boats
FORMULA by Thunderbird Products

IBBI members that do not use Nautolex vinyl:
Bennington Marine, Bryant, Campion Marine, Carolina Cat, Chris Craft, Cobia, Contender, Crownline, Cruisers Yachts, EdgeWater, Four Winns, Glacier Bay Catamarans, Glastron, Hewes Light Tackle, Key West, Livingston, Malibu and Axis, Maverick, Misty Harbor, Moomba, Palm Beach, Parker, Pathfinder, Pioneer, Power Cat Group, Premier, Rampage, Ranger, Regulator, Reinell, Scout, Sea Hunt, Skier's Choice, Smoker Craft, Starcraft Marine, Stratos, Supra, Tidewater, Triton, Wellcraft, and World Cat.

rpengr · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:33 am

My Sunsport Deck is hinged from the back, and lifted with 2 gas shocks. I also have a bench seat, which folds out like a futon. There is some storage under my seat, as the bottom can be lifted, or slid out.

Here are my comments for you:

Hinging your sunsport deck from the back does sound much better. You should have some type of latch or strap to retain it down, as the forward facing opening can bounce open and catch wind (I had this happen while trailering one time). The gas shocks are great for quick checks in the engine compartment. To stand next to the engine, I pop the gas shocks off at one end, and lift the deck up past 90 degrees, and use a dock line to retain it from falling open too far and damaging the springs. (a strap at each side would be good for this purpose). The main point here is that you want hinges that can open past 90deg.

Kneeling over the bench seat is still pretty useless for maintenance other than checking the oil. I need to climb in the engine compartment to do any real work. I can barely change the impeller if I kneel next to the engine and hang over the top/front of the engine to reach down. I moved my second battery far aft (into the pod) so that I have room to kneel on either side of the engine. I kneel on 8" fenders to be easy on the knees.

So far, I have had my entire bench seat out once. This provided exceptional maintenance room, but takes about 3 hours for 2 people to remove and replace.

This is a picture with the rear seat and support and backrest removed. Not a small job, but I think I will do it once a year for annual maintenance.

So if you are redoing the rear seat anyway, then you should really consider doing it Lou's way, with the bench in two halves that can be removed separately.

In a 1993 boat, as far as losing value, I don't think it matters at all for you to change the boat away from stock configuration. Your changes will be an improvement over the original design. The important thing is to have good quality materials and workmanship.

hutch9900 · **Joined:** Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:14 pm **Posts:** 456

ric wrote:

Tanara is chemical proof, so you can wash your boat every week with bleach to make the vinyl look perfect and the stitching will never come apart.

Is that what you use on your vinyl, Ric?? I seem to remember seeing pics of your interior (minus the ladies) that look pretty brown and faded. I am sure that the sun has something to do with that, but perhaps using bleach is not such a good idea. Since seeing your recommendation on using bleach along with those pictures, I think I would stick with the manufacturer's recommendation instead.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:46 am

rpenger _ good ideas

Ric_ i never use bleach on my boats because it eats thru GelCot and kills carpet and colored anything.. I use STARBRITE on my interior as it is a safe product for marine final

as for making a statement of "everyone uses" my granddads 60' had no vinal on it. It had ultra soft white leather inside and out.. and it was mint 10 years later. it stayed under cover when not in use..

I FEEL that under cover is key to keeping an interior pristine. Also clean after use. At minimum a wipe down.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:35 am

If you do a variation of my set up you can have 1/2 of the seat out in 2 min, then remove 6 wingnuts lift out one of the dividers and un-latch the 'door' and open it. That's another 5 min. So less than 10 min you can stand next to one side. When I winterize it I just open up the port side to get at the oil filter, I can reach the engine drain even on the starboad side because the V6 is short and I can reach around the front if the engine. To do the starter the starboard side comes out.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:06 pm

I think I am going to go with a latch system similar to this. possibly this. http://www.searay-parts.com/Sundeck-latch-1219948-p/1219948sundecklatch.htm I would briefer an all SS product. I am not a fan of plastic.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:17 pm

It reads "Undiluted bleach"

Nothing about bleach based cleaners.

My boat has the original 2003 nautolex vinyl, I'll get pics it was dirty in those pics. It looks brand new. It hates the heat, so if you put the cover on it will cook the white brown where the cover touches and it takes a few weeks of direct sunlight to make it white again. I think that's what you saw in the pic.

Jdpber · **Posted:** Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:40 pm

My cover does not touch the material anywhere int he boat and the redesign it will not either. So.... that issue is resolved.

Continue with all possibilities. I love discussing options.

www.iFourWinns.com

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