Seams on Upholstery Coming Apart

SOPOPONTOON

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My 2018 Pontoon's seams are coming apart in several locations on the seating. Has anyone else had this issue and did you dealer cover this under warranty? Thanks.
 
If you are the original owner it should be covered underwarranty ,as long as it is not sun damaged from not using your cover . Check with you dealer .
 
Well,
I'm no expert on warranty term length but, being it's an '18, that's a 7 year old boat so, do you have factory or extended warranty on it? If not, good luck trying to get the dealer to anti-up for that repair. I've done a bit of heavy duty sewing in my time and without seeing pics, it's tough to give you a good analogy of what's needed. If the material has ripped where your seams are, you're pretty much SOL and will need some new upholstery work done. If the seam threads have simply disintegrated or weathered, it's potentially possible to simply (simply is a relative term here) to take each seat/area apart by releasing staples etc. and remove the fabric and re-sew any or all seams with new and UV resistant thread. Then simply re-install and re-staple. Yep, a bit of work to say the least but, nothing in this world ever comes easy or cheap.
Scott
 
I will also add that many cleaning agents include small amounts of bleach. That will eat away at seam threads. So while the boat is still under warranty, this one is always a trick situation due to so many people not heading cleaning instructions or cover instructions for the fabric.

Can you share any pics of the situation?
 
I attached a few photos. Bennington does not want to cover under warranty as they say it is wear and tear from sun damage. Almost all of the 3 front bench seat seams are coming apart. I was going to try and get the seams sewn but I read somewhere else that foam deteroriates and expands and seams will continue to split. Only the bench seats have this issue. Cockpit seat, fishing seats and rear console seams are all good. Any other experience or thoughts on this? Thanks.
 

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Hey SOPOPONTOON,
Well, far be it from me to tell you that those appear to be a very weak seam in the upholstery business. I'm not an upholsterer. I have an industrial compound walking foot sewing machine and I do dabble in sewing. It's more or less just a fun hobby for me. And from what I've learned and practiced over the few years I've played with this stuff, just like metal fabrication and creating higher quality weld joints, sewing "joints" follow along the same lines. From what I see in the pictures, those seams just don't have a strong joint and again, I'm not an upholsterer, I'm only calling it as I see it. Far be it from me to tell Bennington how to sew. I (and probably maybe 98% of the readers on here) don't know just how many failed seams like you have, have happened due to a number of reasons. Not every Benny owner is on this forum so, it's possible that others have also had this issue but are not on here to report it to fellow owners.

While the damage at least appears to be limited to, and applies to potential deterioration of the threads used, that appears to be just a plain weak seam. Just for your own entertainment and knowledge, I'm linking a youtube video that is put out by the maker of the type of sewing machine I have, Sailrite. It's about a 5-10 minute video showing how basic seams are done and the benefits of each one. There are more but these three are the basics. And yours, again based on how close I can zoom in on each pic, appear to be a lower quality than even their basic one they show first.

Now, you may not even care about all this and I get that. Most non-sewing folks could care less about this sort of stuff. All you really want is upholstery that doesn't come apart, not to learn how to sew. But again, just for some very short entertainment and knowledge, grab a beer or a soda and or a couple of cookies and take 5-10 minutes and watch how, in my opinion, how yours and most seams in boat upholstery SHOULD be done.
Scott

 
This was very informative and helpful. If other Bennington owners have had seams coming apart on the seats , please comment on this thread. Thanks.
 
I cannot speak to seams and different sorts of seams. I will say observationally that it doesn’t appear that the stitching pulled through the seams as much as the threads disintegrated and the seam pulled apart. Hard to know really unless inspecting it in person. So although FiredUp may know a thing or two about stitching and seams, the relevance here seems mute to your situation.

I would agree that it does appear due to disintegration of the threads which is typically caused by sun damage or using the wrong cleaning agents. But again, no expert. I would echo Jack. You could do a search on this topic up in the right hand corner. It is not one we see brought up often, and typically if it has come up in the distant past, it was related to someone not covering and protecting the boat, or using harsher cleaning agents with chemicals/bleach that broke down the thread.

I guess only you know how you have maintained and protected it up to this point.
 
I have 2011 20SLI pontoon and have run into the seams coming apart. Last summer we had a couple, by the end of this season we will need to seriously consider replacing all the seats. It appears to come apart on the vertical portion on the seam and on the seated part, the “decorative trim seam” is where it is completely getting destroyed. Attached pics here. Does anyone know or have had experience with replacing seats, or repairing (which we fixed some vertical splits last year without success of it holding)? Boat is in Maine. Any suggestions??
 

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Your bench seat seams are coming apart at the same location as on my boat but this started happening on my boat after 6 years. To me, it looks like a bad design as those bench seats take the most stress from people getting up and down and pushing on the seats which stresses the foam under the fabric more than any of the other seats and then stresses and splits the seams. The sewing on these seams looks like it needs to be more resistant to stress than the seams on non-bench seats. I am going to get an opinion from a professional boat upholster.
 
Your bench seat seams are coming apart at the same location as on my boat but this started happening on my boat after 6 years. To me, it looks like a bad design as those bench seats take the most stress from people getting up and down and pushing on the seats which stresses the foam under the fabric more than any of the other seats and then stresses and splits the seams. The sewing on these seams looks like it needs to be more resistant to stress than the seams on non-bench seats. I am going to get an opinion from a professional boat upholster.
I’d be interested to know how much they would charge for reference. Thanks!!
 
Your bench seat seams are coming apart at the same location as on my boat but this started happening on my boat after 6 years. To me, it looks like a bad design as those bench seats take the most stress from people getting up and down and pushing on the seats which stresses the foam under the fabric more than any of the other seats and then stresses and splits the seams. The sewing on these seams looks like it needs to be more resistant to stress than the seams on non-bench seats. I am going to get an opinion from a professional boat upholster.
SOPOPONTOON,
The highlighted statement above reflects EXACTLY why I posted that video earlier. I have had upholstery work done and have done some myself. Quite often, upholsterers cut corners to keep keep costs down. And that means doing things AND SEWING SEAMS in such ways that yep, it will get them (and you) through warranty but quite possibly will fail shortly thereafter WHEN THERE IS NO WARRANTY LEFT.

Now, not all seams fail, not even in the same boat or in the same product line of the same model/year or even years before or after. Lots of things change in the sewing/upholstery world daily. Thread types, thread sizes, UV protection for those threads, thread chemical composition (what it's made of) and more. And the same goes for the actual upholstery material too. There's gobs and gobs of different blends of upholstery fabrics.

Our Benny, which is now over 11 years old, a '14 25RCL with the Yamaha F-350 350HP 5.3L V-8 still has flawless upholstery AND seams. But, and this is a HUGE difference between us and many boaters out there in Waterworld, stays completely covered with snaps and all. And it sits parked under its own drive under cover. So, that boat absolutely NEVER sees the sun unless we're in it and using it. That is a HUGE deterrent in keeping not only the upholstery in as pristine condition as possible but also the whole rest of the boat, paint, aluminum side rail structure, color matched trailer, and more. The SUN is A MONSTER and kills everything sooner or later. Soooo, keeping anything you own OUT OF THE SUN when possible, unless you're using it, is paramount.

Living over here in lake Havasu, we see it daily. Very nice boats, motorhomes, and more sitting outside in our BLISTERING oven summertime temps and many are uncovered. The sun takes its toll on those much sooner than if they were at least covered in some fashion. The video I linked above, showed various basic seams, all of which were/are seriously stronger than what you're experiencing in your boat. And yes, the sun gets to the thread and once that happens, if the thread is not UV stabilized or proofed, only has a short life span and the seam it's holding will give way.

If you take just a few minutes to watch this next video, you'll see the top-of-the-line seam that is used in zillions autos/trucks/boats/air planes/ and many other applications on a daily basis. It's called "French" seam and you'll recognise it because it's all around you in what I've mentioned. But, and this is HUGE, that French seam is way more costly and uses up more material and takes longer to fabricate. But, sun or no sun, you couldn't hurt that seam if you wanted to, including leaving it in the direct sunlight for as long as you please, as long as the threads used are UV proof or resistant. I have done this French seam plenty of times in my little projects and not only is it phenomenally strong but also it's the BEST looking seam in the upholstery world.
Scott

 
If it's simtex good luck they do not stand behind their product. I filed a claim and they told me to pound sand. A bird pooped on the simtex and it was nasty what ever it ate. Tried all the cleaning methods and it would not come out. Was told they only cover manufacturer defaults. I'm getting rid of the boat at the end of summer. Wife has hated it from day one, no red wine on the boat, have to make sure guest use the correct suntan lotion etc. Worst marine product on the water. I love the boat but not the hassle with the fabric.
 
Above are the terms and rules , this thread is boarder line and close to being deleted.
 
The terms and rules are agreed to when signing up for this forum.
 
Above are the terms and rules , this thread is boarder line and close to being deleted.
I'm not quite sure I understand. Is there or has there been, some form of rule breaking displayed in this thread? If you're eluding to the links I've linked about how the different types of seams are sewn by a given company, I can't quite see the issue since I'm not or never was trying to "sell" any particular product or service from said company. In my opinion, all I've done by linking those videos is show how things CAN be done (that would promote a tougher and more stress resistant seam) vs the way they appear to be done on some of the members boats.
Scott
 
Paragraph 2. Service Related issues are not allowed.
 
I attached a few photos. Bennington does not want to cover under warranty as they say it is wear and tear from sun damage. Almost all of the 3 front bench seat seams are coming apart. I was going to try and get the seams sewn but I read somewhere else that foam deteroriates and expands and seams will continue to split. Only the bench seats have this issue. Cockpit seat, fishing seats and rear console seams are all good. Any other experience or thoughts on this? Thanks.
Is this that SimTek new stuff?
 
Is this that SimTek new stuff?
Bennington started using it in 2016-17 in upper models and it filtered down to all models in 2018. My understanding prior to that is it was a luxury grade marine vinyl found in certain high end boats. So, not very new at all.
 
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