Observer Seat Rebuild
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23746
Printed Date: May-03-2024 at 8:45am
Topic: Observer Seat Rebuild
Posted By: karthur
Subject: Observer Seat Rebuild
Date Posted: October-04-2011 at 11:29pm
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I had posted about redoing my observer seats a while back http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22560&KW=observer&title=span-classhighlightobserver-span-seat-rebuild - here ... got a few more questions.
1. The small seat looks like it has plastic film between the foam and the wood. Was it from the factory like this? The plastic wasnt on the large seat over the cooler, just this small corner seat bottom. Maybe the large seat was recovered and they left out the plastic film... not sure. 2. Peter suggested that I use exterior ply with CEPS. The CPES is pretty expensive. I can buy a 4x8x1/2 pressure treated ply for about $25. Would it be ok to use treated ply instead of exterior ply/CPES? Here is a pic of the small corner seat bottom with the plastic sticking out. 
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Replies:
Posted By: dwcar
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 12:18am
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I think the plastic was from the factory and original. I think you would be ok with the treated ply. Just have your guest towel off before sitting down and dont let sit soaking wet. You might consider 3/4" ------------- 83Ski |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 10:59am
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Kirk - Due to an unfortunate accident, I need to create the observer seat base from scratch. Can you provide the width & length measurements for me? I have a new skin but was going to guess at the base size. Also a photo of the edge construction would be very helpful too.
I am just going to use exterior plywood coated with some epoxy resin, thinned with xylol (home brew CPES). ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 11:19am
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Chris,
You want the measurements for the wood base? Mine boat has two... one in the corner and one over the cooler. You want dims for both? Give me a couple days, but I'll be glad to do it. Care to post your reciepe for the CPES homebrew? How much xylol? Another thing.. I was thinking about using SS T50 staples to put my skin back on with. Kirk |
Posted By: lewy2001
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 11:47am
Chris my 89 seat bases are a plastic type material not timber. This is the bottom of the upholstered cushion not the plastic roto-cast base with the cooler. The material is the same as used on the bases of the seat cushions on my 98 Sport. Will get a picture of the base with dimensions for you. ------------- If you're going through hell, keep going http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=2999" rel="nofollow - 89 Ski <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=5685" ta |
SNobsessed wrote:Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 1:06pm
Lewy, did you add these? CC used wood seat bases through '92 for sure. ------------- |
Posted By: JasonR
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 2:02pm
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With pt materials you need to use either hot dipped galvi or stainless steal fasteners. So that means stainless staples for fastening the skins. The pt these days are caustic and will case the fasteners to fail quickly. ------------- '86 2001 800hrs |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:02pm
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Kirk - Here is the link to the recipe. It was Xylene, not Xylol, my bad:
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/penetrating4u.html I just need width & length of the plywood. What happened is that the cushion got a little bloddy in the accident we had & I washed & left to dry on the platform. It took several days to get in contact with the fiberglass shop to get the insurance estimate, in which time I forgot the cushion was back there. So the guy finally calls & said get over here in the next hour. I Hitch up & pull out. Several days later, I am looking for my cushion, long gone. Got a new skin from Christines (very nice BTW). The plywood is easy, but still need to find some foam. I am thinking of rigging a hot wire setup to contour the foam. Lewy, I lost the seat cushion, not the pastlic base, thanks for responding. Chris ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:04pm
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TR - My '89 has rotocast bases. ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:08pm
I know the seats sit on rotocast pedestals, and the driver's seat frame is plastic, but most of the vinyl should be stapled to wood bases, correct? Thats how the seats were in my '90. ------------- |
Posted By: Hollywood
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:15pm
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Chris, I'm sure you could call Christines and get an idea, and possibly pictures, of the foam you need (density, dimensions, etc.). ------------- |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:23pm
Chris, Your not bad!! Xylene is the technical name and Xylol is Sunnyside's trade name for it!! I still call it Xylol since w used to use lots of it from Sunnyside to reduce contact cement to spray it!! ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: kapla
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:26pm
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when doing the cpes home brew..you need to add the hardener to the epoxy resin and then mix it up with the xylene? ------------- <a href="">1992 ski nautique |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:33pm
 ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: October-05-2011 at 5:36pm
Seb, I would reduce both the resin and the hardner and then mix the two. It will just give you some added pot life. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: October-06-2011 at 12:45am
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Pete,
You aren't really concerned about adding "pot life" with the reduced epoxy are you? From what I just read on the epoxyproducts website (Great! article by the way, it sounds like the pot life could be like 40hrs. If you have used resins twice, then thats one more time than me  .
I would think you could just add the hardner to the resin, then thin both down by what ever percentage... mix well and apply... then wait about a week for it to set. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: October-06-2011 at 1:59am
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Kirk,
I do not know what you are reading but CPES does not have a 40 hr. pot life. I go by it since I do not advocate the "home brew". You start screwing with chemistry that you are not qualified to do and you may end up with results that will screw you in the end. Are these documents you are reading written by qualified chemist's or just some junk you found on line? ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: October-06-2011 at 2:05am
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Chris,
Here are the drawings for the seat bottoms. Hopefully you can view them... if not let me know. http://www.mediafire.com/?1475sp9sc7zqtpn - Corner Seat http://www.mediafire.com/?4vhesb56666zhvg - Observer Seat |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: October-06-2011 at 2:18am
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Pete,
I hear what you are saying.. the website I was reading is http://www.epoxyproducts.com/penetrating4u.html |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: October-06-2011 at 8:24am
Kirk, http://www.epoxyproducts.com/penetrating4u.html%20 - This site has ben linked before The guy is very detailed in his testing but I do not feel a true chemist and just a re seller of resins. I guess the one thing that really bothers me is his using pretty common "hardware store" solvents. This is where the chemistry comes to play - will different solvents interact with the epoxy resin/hardener changing it's properties like strength/hardness? The CPES has some real weird solvents in it!!!! ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: October-26-2011 at 12:28pm
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I just ended up using 1/2 PT plywood. I got a 2x4 piece which was enought to do both the corner seat and the observer seat for about $10. Lowes has some stainless staples for $10 too. That was cheaper than buying the chemicals.
Here's a pic of the observer seat before I put the skin back on it. Before I put the skin back on, I put some 2mil plastic between the skin and the foam (like the original)to keep the foam from getting soaked. I used some #6 deck screws and waterproof glue to put the wood together. Both seats turned out great. 
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Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: October-26-2011 at 1:30pm
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Ha, all that talk about CPES and you end up using pressure treated instead. Too funny.
Personally, Id like to find a more suitable material than either PT ply or ext grade ply with CPES/epoxy. Something composite that will last forever and hold staples and screws would be ideal. Coosa really needs some glass on it for screw retention- not sure if that would help it hold a staple though. My staple gun couldnt get through the glass anways. Something that doesnt need extra treatement would be nice... what is CC using nowadays? Some sort of plastic? Starboard maybe? ------------- |
Posted By: OverMyHead
Date Posted: October-26-2011 at 8:26pm
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The plastic film is an upholsterers trick, the foam is very "grippy" against the back of the vinyl fabric, the plastic allows the surfaces to slide making it easier to pull the cover into place. You can use dry cleaner bags as a substitute. ------------- For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats. 1987 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: OverMyHead
Date Posted: October-26-2011 at 8:31pm
If you dont want the work of a hot wire, foam can be cut/contoured very nicely with an an electric carving Knife ------------- For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats. 1987 Ski Nautique |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: October-26-2011 at 9:26pm
+1 on the plastic and the electric knife Dave. The problem with the knife is getting it out of the kitchen and back without the Mrs knowing  ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: bbishop1974
Date Posted: October-29-2011 at 11:49am
| Joe in NY claimed one of the camp boats he rebuilt lasted longest with PT.i used it in a supra i rebuilt the seats in and the only problem i had was the larger peices would warp and were a pain to install. |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: October-29-2011 at 9:43pm
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Kirk - Just got caught up on this thread, been missing it for some reason. Thanks for the observers seat plans, just what I needed. I think I will also use PT ply. I can't see it ever rotting out with the usage we will give it. I need to get started on this project!
Tim Benj - I suggest polypropylene plastic for a never-rot seat base. You can staple straight into it. You just have to figure out a way to get it in the thickness & shape you want. ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: lewy2001
Date Posted: October-30-2011 at 10:25am
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Chris when I replaced the seat bases on my last ski boat I used this product. It holds staples and will never need to be replaced again.
http://www.plaspanel.com.au/applications.htm - Recycled plastic panels ------------- If you're going through hell, keep going http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=2999" rel="nofollow - 89 Ski <a href="http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=5685" ta |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: December-31-2011 at 2:11pm
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I finished my replacement observer seat cushion today.
A big thanks to Kirk (Karther) for the base drawing, & Dave (OverMyHead) for the electric knife tip. Projects like these would not be practical for me without the great advice from you guys, at least with any respectable outcome. Here are some photos. I used exterior plywood for the structure, coated with homeade CPES. I had some epoxy at the end of it's shelf life, so it only cost me $5 for the xylol. The thinned epoxy soaked in well. I used 5-minute epoxy adhesive & finish nails to secure the joints. I used some repurposed foam from an old matress. (new foam is surprisingly expensive) This was the hard part, creating the foam shape from scratch. The electric knife left rough scallops at the contoured edges, which I was sure would telegraph through the skin. I wrapped the contoured pieces with 1/2 inch sheet foam to hide the scallops. This resulted in an overstuffed condition, but at least I didn't get wrinkles. I had to glue the foam together, as it kept bunching up when I went to put the skin on. One lesson learned is that the softness of the cushion changed quite a bit after I streched the skin & stapled it down. I thought it was going to be softer than original (with the extra foam), but it ended up a little firmer. Thanks again to all your help & have a safe New Years Eve! 
 ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: storm34
Date Posted: January-02-2012 at 1:54pm
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Looking good Chris!
I did the same with our 96 Snob but kept the original skin to get another year out of it. I'l be doing the backseats at some point this winter. Nice 'Composite material' from the original skin. 
What was left. 
New base dry fit. I went with exterior ply with CPES and resin since I had it on hand.  ------------- |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: March-25-2013 at 9:58pm
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Bump for Dank's benefit. ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: karthur
Date Posted: March-26-2013 at 12:19am
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Chris, Was Dank looking for something in this thread? I went back thru all the posts here and could not find a person with this username. Please claify. |
Posted By: SNobsessed
Date Posted: March-26-2013 at 1:35am
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He sent me a PM wanting the seat dimensions. It's all here, thanks to you! ------------- “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Ben Franklin |
Posted By: Dank
Date Posted: March-26-2013 at 11:19am
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Thanx guys, exactly what I needed! :) ------------- "I don't know what the world may need, but a http://correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=886&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1986&yrend=1990" rel="nofollow - V8 engine's a good start for me" |
Posted By: Dank
Date Posted: April-16-2014 at 9:13pm
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So a year later...I'm finally getting around to building my new seats. I've looked through the forums, but I haven't found dimensions for the removable rear seat top. Does anyone have these laying around? ------------- "I don't know what the world may need, but a http://correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=886&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1986&yrend=1990" rel="nofollow - V8 engine's a good start for me" |