Furry seats

BogMonster · 09 June 2011, 21:44

I've got a problem brewing with the seats on the Vipermax. I had some concern about them when I got the boat as the bases were untreated ply but was told it would be OK as they're all made like that. I intended to try and peel back the upholstery and seal it with yacht varnish or something before summer ended but never got around to it due to lack of time.

Sadly I was right and the underside is soaking up moisture and now going mouldy as per attached pic so if nothing is done I suspect it will rot within a year or two and I'll end up needing new seats

So, a question for other Osprey owners, have you got this problem or if you haven't, what did you do to your seats? What do the Osprey seats look like when you pull them apart - is there just foam on top of ply or is there a supporting structure inside them? I did wonder about pulling it apart and fibreglassing over the ply on both sides to seal it properly but just pondering the best way to sort it at the moment.

Suggestions please!

whisper · 09 June 2011, 21:48

Sounds like condensation, do you have ventilation in your seat bases?

willk · 09 June 2011, 22:00

That's a fairly brutal/poxy bit of workmanship Stephen

THB, you're stuck with it so put some fence preservative on there and paint it black. In fairness, the ply will probably last longer than the vinyl covering anyway. A lot of builders have moved on to molded plastic bases with a flange that fit the opening on the jockey. A suggestion would be to remove the bases from the jockeys when they are out of the water - it will keep them dry and freshen the storage space too. Forget ventilation - it won't work.

Hightower · 09 June 2011, 23:00

I got my upholstery made locally. I made up all the bases on mine and coated them all with Fiberglass resin. The upholsterer then bagged up the seat base and foam in plasic before fitting the seat outer. Obviously this is going to be hard wrok for you, so I would coat the area with Fiberglass resin and stick a layer of seat material over the top of the mess to pretty it all up.

Job done

Leaderscharter · 09 June 2011, 23:07

I just re did all of mine, it is amazing how much water they carry when rotten, I coated them with a layer of epoxy but I think that the staples holding on the fabric will eventually will eventually lead to moisture ingress. It should delay the process some.

gotchiguy · 09 June 2011, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I've got a problem brewing with the seats on the Vipermax. I had some concern about them when I got the boat as the bases were untreated ply but was told it would be OK as they're all made like that. I intended to try and peel back the upholstery and seal it with yacht varnish or something before summer ended but never got around to it due to lack of time.

Sadly I was right and the underside is soaking up moisture and now going mouldy as per attached pic so if nothing is done I suspect it will rot within a year or two and I'll end up needing new seats

So, a question for other Osprey owners, have you got this problem or if you haven't, what did you do to your seats? What do the Osprey seats look like when you pull them apart - is there just foam on top of ply or is there a supporting structure inside them? I did wonder about pulling it apart and fibreglassing over the ply on both sides to seal it properly but just pondering the best way to sort it at the moment.

Suggestions please!

Um..... if you forget about the problem it will simply go away

Ours are exactly the same. Best remedy is to leave them off when the cover is on so that air can circulate. Besides (assuming yours were done at the same place ours were) the vinyl will fall apart far sooner than the ply. It is very poor quality stuff.

BogMonster · 09 June 2011, 23:09

No there is no ventilation in the bases at all, and they are glassed onto the deck. That seat pictured is actually the jockey console seat which is the worst one but the others are similar. With the wind we get here when you get lashing rain it can drive in under the seat cushions - in fact a mod I made recently was to put some sticky backed draught excluder foam around the top of each pod to try and stop this, which has been reasonably successful.

Fence preservative sounds like a plan, that should soak in nicely, hadn't thought of that. Seats by Cuprinol

While I have got a full size cover, I don't use it as the wind here makes it nigh on impossible to control and I am worried about it flapping and chafing the tubes. It was mainly to protect her in transit for the voyage down. Long term plan is to have a garage to put her in somewhere so the problem will go away then.

9D280 · 10 June 2011, 10:32

I'd give it as good bath in bleach first & let it dry out. Problem with the spres is unless you can completely seal it (which I guess isn't going to happen unless you totally dismantle it & then re- upholster) the mould WILL be back. I have used a 75% bleach - water solution in an old kitchen cleaner spray (wiould have gone higher, but the less visxcous mix wil lget a little further under the skin of the wood, and spray a lot better). A couple of baths with that and hey presto, no mould.

Then hit it with the varnish etc......

Nasher · 10 June 2011, 10:51

The seats on my ocean were like that when I first brought her.

They were so bad that I build my own replacements, but that did mean of course that I had the benefit of being able to completely soak the ply bases in preservative on all sides before attaching the foam and covers.

Unfortunately I also think that unless you take the covers off to treat underneath it will keep coming back.
It may be worse in fact, because your treated bit will look good and strong from the outside whilst festering away inside.
Then a bit like a Land Rover rear cross member it will fail all of a sudden, and the ply will come away from the hinges.

Why Rib builders can’t build this sort of thing to last I don’t know.

Sorry I can’t be more constructive.

Nasher

Ian M · 10 June 2011, 13:51

Doesn't help you much, but I coated my seat bases with epoxy, and all seems fine so far. Sorry about the reflections, in a bit of a hurry.

Chris · 11 June 2011, 07:02

I think mastertrim would have done those although they are now called quayside and Leisure Quayside

I had a seam open up on one of my jockey cushions and they were more than happy to repair FOC after 2 years.

Speak to Louis.

Chris · 11 June 2011, 07:05

And yes mine did get wet, mainly from condensation I left them upturned under the cover and they dried out.

Another good idea is get them to plastic wrap the foam before covering and this prevents any moisture absorbtion through seams etc. Worth bearing in mind.

BogMonster · 12 June 2011, 09:37

Thanks, a few ideas. I've been very kindly offered some surplus seat cushions for the cost of postage so that's given me some options to keep things going for a while

I might drop Quayside a line and explore the possibilities of getting some made up using a decent grade of material and waterproof bases. I don't know what the military etc use but it must be fairly tough stuff.

None of my seats are hinged so hinge failure is not really an issue - they hook under at the back and the clamp at the front is an over-centre latching arrangement. The hinges on my double jockey Humber seat I bought and installed on the Destroyer lasted less than a year so I wouldn't bother using hinges again! It's actually more convenient to be able to take it right off anyway.

Has anybody pulled an Osprey seat base to bits? Is it just a flat bit of ply with foam on top or is there a structure inside?

I suppose what I am trying to ask is - is it practical to un-staple the upholstery, take off the base and treat it and then refit it, or is the whole thing going to fall to bits and/or look like a dogs breakfast afterwards?

gotchiguy · 12 June 2011, 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I don't know what the military etc use but it must be fairly tough stuff

I think it's called "leather"??

at least that's what they use on mil spec SRs.

Are the seats already that much of a disaster that they need replacing? Surely leaving them as they are for a couple of years won't hurt. They are hardly quality items and surely when they fully die getting a complete set of much higher quality ones will be the way to go rather than faffing about taking them apart and putting them back together again?

Dirk Diggler · 12 June 2011, 10:43

Somebody needs to tell Osprey that this is the 21st century, and untreated wood just isn't acceptable from a supposed quality manufacturer.

Get your self some pieces of this.... VETUS Catalogue 2011 - English

POLY-WOOD, it's not cheap, but it's superb for this use, and you won't ever have the problem again. And yes, it takes staples perfectly.

Ian M · 12 June 2011, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

Somebody needs to tell Osprey that this is the 21st century, and untreated wood just isn't acceptable from a supposed quality manufacturer.

As I understand, Osprey do not make seat cushions. When I bought my rig Roy recommended a manufacturer, but in no way are they the same company. I decided to go with a local company, but made my own seat bases.
POLY WOOD sounds good

BogMonster · 12 June 2011, 11:25

No of course it won't hurt for a couple of years I am just getting some ideas now while the problem is in my mind. Long term the boat is going to be under cover anyway so the seats can be taken off to dry out. If half an hour per seat will let me treat them to last a few years that is time worth spending, if when I take them to bits the whole thing is going to fall apart and be irreparable then obviously I'll leave them be, hence the question.

As above - seats are not made by Osprey they are subcontracted out - I think to Mastertrim. They are a relatively simple flat bottomed square cushion that could be made by just about anybody who did upholstery. No issues with the upholstery - looks nice and neatly done - just the bases that need improving. I can't make any judgement about how long the fabric will last as it's less than a year old at the moment but UV and weather here plays hell with just about anything so I wouldn't expect them to last forever - my Humber seat needed replacing when I got the boat, that was about six years old and absolutely rotten.

Polywood sounds good