Fixed the Vinyl

[MEDIC151]

Well, over the last 2 days, me and the wife decided to try and fix the vinyl on the back sundeck of our XLV. All three had come apart at the stitching between the colors where there was no piping. I unscrewed the covers and took them into the house and started pulling staples. Dang there are a bunch of those! Got the skins off and the wife hand sewed them back together using the same holes where it had come apart.

Took about 6 hours for the 2 smaller ones to complete, including restapling everything back together. I bought an electric staple gun and bought stainless steel staples. That was a time saver. We did the engine cover yesterday and only took it apart to the point a little past the rip. Looks like it did when we got it in 06. If you plan on doing this, it requires A LOT of patience. I am planning to reskin the back covers over the winter with solid pieces so there is no seams to split. I wish I had pics but I forgot to do before and afters.

[kaneboats]

Hope you used the right thread after all that trouble.

[MEDIC151]

We did. It was a UV protected marine thread doubled over to give it more strength. I am just hoping for another season or 2 out of it.

[Hutch5]

Read this post and decided to do the same on our 2006 lsv we got in July. It had a small section on the starboard back cover where the stitching was coming out. The repair looks great though one thing we found to be careful about is when sewing it up we must have put to much stress on the vinyl in one spot and the hole from one of the staples caused a tear in the vinyl that opened up to about an inch and half that went unnoticed until I was stapling it back up. It was in the red, textured vinyl which seems more brittle and not as tough as the offwhite material. We are going to try the vinyl repair kit now on that issue....it's not on the top of the cover, on the side towards the engine cover so hoping we can close it up and it shouldn't be visible.

[squeeg333]

Hey guys, I don't think I'd tackle it myself, but about how much do these skins cost? I know of course the size will dictate, but I've got 3 small tears that I will need to get fixed, 2 red spots in the white vinyl that won't come out no matter what I try, and a piece of the drivers seat I need replaced. I called the dealership, and they said they could get skins no problem, but I didn't ask the cost. Do you guys have any ball-park figures??

[squeeg333]

Just wanted to let ya'll know in case any of you were curious.

I got a call back from my local dealer. It looks like the new skins range from 100 to 200 bucks, depending on which one you're looking for. The most expensive one, at least that I needed, was the large backrest in the stern of the boat (in an LSV). Right around 200 for it. Not bad I suppose considering how much vinyl is there.