Messages

update:



his cushions on deck are white w/a gray and red stripe, so this was the scheme we decided on.

here's a closeup of the tapeworm bolster:



that was hard. Thanks guys, for all your help!

Randy, I know they make minimum wage; in fact, I used to work there a long time ago. and most of us here have at one time worked for minimum wage. It's not an excuse to act like a jerk.  And they should've taken the time to train her that vinyl can't be folded. I always say "never again" and then get in a bind and am forced to go there! Fortunately my trips there are very infrequent. Unfortunately, though, in my area, they are the only game in town. Which could explain why the attitudes go unchecked. I will probably write an email at their website.

Man, I hate this place. I've never seen such surly attitudes in retail.

I went to get a few yards of white marine vinyl. While in line, I noticed that the first almost yard of fabric had greasy handprints on it. So when I get to the cutting table I ask her to cut off the dirty part. She says dismissively "oh, that'll wipe right off." Ok guys, am I a bitch for not wanting to pay $15 yd for dirty fabric?
So I say, "We don't know this for sure, and it's not something I'm willing to do when I get home." She actually says "Well I'm not cutting off a piece that big; it's a waste."
Now I just can't beleive my ears. She goes in the back and gets a wet paper towel and tries to wash the dirt off, but of course, it wouldn't come off. So now she's really bent out of shape, as if Joann's is gonna go out of business because a yard of fabric is damaged.

So she measures it out and starts to fold it! I ask her if she can please put it on a roll (and I swear to God you guys, I was perfectly pleasant the whole time). You would've though I was asking her to sacrifice her first born. She rolled her eyes and made an exasperated sigh.
It's always an experience like this whenever I go there. I hate this place!!!!!!!

Rant over. thanks.

So, I took a breather for a day, steamed the foam and am having a second go at it. Fingers crossed!
Thanks, guys!

Holy crap! I wouldn't touch that job with a 10 foot pole.  Seems like it would be less labor intensive(and therefore cheaper) to start from scratch.
Reusing zippers on marine canvas?? Really????

You're not rough at all, Minuph. It's probably what I needed to hear. It's tough sometimes when you don't work for someone else and you can't go to the boss and ask how something is done.  I'm going to make it work somehow. Thanks everyone for you thoughts on this; it's nice to know I'm not alone.
Jo

Hey everyone,
I did a very old pontoon boat, which consisted of 4 seats and 4 separate seat backs, steerage, 4 armrest/console thingies, a couple of boards, and a captains/helm chair. Here's a before pic:



Well, everything turned out pretty good, except for the captains chair. This thing presented somewhat of a challenge for me. It has inside curves, outside curves, stripes, etc.  I used some parts of the old cover for the pattern (which was really crispy), and did another stupid thing: I assumed the seat was symmetrical, and made half the pattern, then flipped it and drew the other half. Well, guess what? It's not symmetrical! the foam is a whole inch higher on the left than it is on the right. So when I put the new cover on for a fitting, it looked crooked in front where the stripes were. You can even see this on the old cover, except it was hard to notice when I got it because your eye is drawn to the big rip in the center.
But now that everything is nice and new and clean, oh boy, you notice it from a mile away. And I'm out of fabric, and so is my supplier, so starting over is out of the question.
I don't want my name on this crooked thing, and am thinking of not charging for the chair and letting him buy a new captains chair, which is an idea he toyed with anyway.
What would you guys do?

Oh my gosh, Mike...that's it!!! Isn't is lovely, in an 80's kind of way? Do you see how they handled the bolsters and that j? They just pinched and pleated every 6 inches or so, creating that puffy look, and the fabric, well don't get me started.
The owner wanted vinyl, because he wanted to "man it up a bit", and I sure don't blame him.

Does anybody know where my best chance of getting these locally is? Would Home Depot carry this sort of thing? What other type of store would carry these? I need the part that screws into the boat.
Thanks!

You're right, June. This was a challenge. Why is it that everything always looks easier than it actually is?
I've finished 2 sections and ran out of fabric; seriously misjudged the amount of fabric it would take to wrap around. It looks smaller than it is, and once you factor in the curve, you suck up a lot of fabric.
It does look really good; I joined the sections and topstitched on each side of the seam. I'll post a pic when I'm done.
Thanks everyone for the advice/encouragement.

Ok, I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to construct this bolster cover in sections (you can see the impression of the old cover in the dacron). It had a light fabric cover on it previously that looked really puffy.
I'm doing the new cover in vinyl. This is soooo tedious! Is there some kind of formula for cutting the pieces other then draping the fabric over and drawing the curve onto each section of the fabric? This is gonna take forever, as there are 4 pieces just like this; about 3 to 4 feet each piece.

Thanks, everyone!
Darren, I was just testing you guys. You passed.
John, the customer fabricated the seat boards out of that plywood and it warped like crazy!

Update: That didn't work either. Guess I have to go with the darts.  :(

Thank you, thank you, thank you June!! That's it!!! I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense. It overhangs about a half inch.
I can't wait till tomorrow to try this!

Scott,
I do want a smooth look. I did sew the boxing onto both sides of the top, but when I go to staple the boxing inside the curve to the board, it's just too ripply. So how do you get it smooth?  ??? The boxing on the outside is not a problem; nice and smooth.

Randy, I'm not fabricating the foam, just putting a new cover (vinyl) on the existing foam.
I guess I have to pleat it?