Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

So my 07 seats have some spots where you can see the seams are just starting to pull apart a little. If it wasn't for a week of rain and tonight it's supposed to snow I'd post some pics! I'm thinking of getting some matching piping that you see along the edges of the seats, cut the back out of the piping so I'm left with a vinyl tube of sorts, and glue it into the seams with a vinyl glue. I'm thinking a nice, flexible vinyl glue would help hold things together, and using the piping would cover the glue and give it more to hold on to. Any opinions? I know, I know, taking the seats apart and having them sewn up and put back together would be ideal, but if I was going to all the trouble of taking the vinyl off the seats, I'd probably want someone to make new ones! Of course, I haven't really looked to see what's involved in taking the vinyl off the seats. Are they wooden bases with the vinyl stapled on the back side? I think the back of the seats are fine, but I haven't be able to get them all cleaned up and see for sure.

That sounds like a possible good work-around to me.

I'd "glue" it with 5200 if it was me.

I'm skeptical. It might cover the problem for a little while but as the threads pop it will spread and the adhesive won't be able to hold it.

It's hard to tell without seeing it. If you have seams that are pulling apart I doubt you'd find an adhesive that will do any good, but maybe yours are not really that bad. Do a YouTube search for "vinyl boat seat seam repair" and you can see what others have tried.

A "baseball" type topstitch can be done with a curved upholstery needle and nylon outdoor thread without removing the seats. Restitching is the only thing I've seen that works to any degree. It'll be a visible repair but if the vinyl isn't brittle beyond repair it might get you another season or two. Good luck with it.