If it's time to reupholster your boat, don't let yourself be pushed into calling in a professional for a do-it-yourself (DIY) project. Removing the material only takes a few twists of a screwdriver. The old seat covers are the pattern for the new, and reinstalling the seat covers is a snap. Remember that you have every bit of the information that pros use---and better taste.
Organize Everything
Use a marking pen to mark the seats. On the old upholstery, write which seat it came from and whether it was from the bottom or back cushion. You'll need this information as you begin to reinstall the seats.
Unroll the new upholstery material. If you are using vinyl as the new upholstery material, it's important to unroll the vinyl and lay it out in the sun for at least an hour to remove creases and make sure the vinyl will be flat enough to work with.
Remove the seats one at a time for reupholstering to simplify the process.
Remove the Old Upholstery
Almost all boat upholstery is stapled to a wooden backing. Use a flat-head screwdriver to pry out the staples and remove the old upholstery. The old upholstery material will be the pattern that you use to cut the new material. If the old seat covers are of the snap-on variety, you'll need to mark the snap locations as well by cutting the snaps from the old material and marking the center of the holes that result.
Lay the new material bottom-side-up on a table and lay the old seat cover---also bottom-side-up---on the new material. Trace around the old seat cover with a china marker (a grease pencil, available at most craft stores) to directly transfer the pattern to the new material, then cut the new seat cover from the new material. It's best to use the longest scissors possible, since most of the cuts will be long and straight; longer scissors mean longer cuts without stopping to re-position the scissors, which means a smaller chance of minor changes of direction in the cut or other errors. If the old seat covers were snap-ons, make a small hole at the snap location transferred from the old seat cover.
Install the New Upholstery
If the new seat covers are snap-on, snap them into place by starting at one side, then snapping the other side. Then snap the front and the back.
If the new seat covers are to be stapled in place, start on one side, then pull the cover tightly over the padding and staple the other side. Repeat the procedure for the front, then the back.
As you complete a seat, return it to its pedestal or its seat bank. Doing one seat at a time lessens the possibility of confusing one seat with another.
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