Tige upholstery (Flame On)

[KonaKing]

This seams to be a common thread here. (pun intended) I have an 04 and the vinyl is crap. My father in law has an 96 ebtide and the vinyl is like new. My neighbor has an 01 MC and the vinyl is great. Both these boat spend the summer outside. So heres my take Tige is a great boat and I love mine. Would I buy a new one ? Yes. Does the vinyl suck ? Yes. Does Tige have a problem with their vinyl? Judging from how many threads I have read in the few years I have been here, Yes.

Tige needs to look into the vinyl the use and find something better. The vinyl guy I use tells me its all about the backing. The soft and supple vinyls need to have a thin and stretchy backing to fell comfy. While a vinyl that will last forever will be much more stiff or less comfy. Also thread is a big player. If its to durable it will cut the vinyl to.

In conclusion If I had purchased a new Tige and my dealership was pissing down my back and telling it was raining I would be mad also. But just replacing the vinyls I already have with the vinyl I already have is going to cause problems down the road. So its time for a change. I would rather deal with a less comfy seat for a longer lasting vinyl.

[91Terminator]

KonaKing

Rant ON

The horse has been beat to death many times now and for each model year there is another horse to be beat or just freeze last years and do again.

I took a lot of grief over my concern which came off tigeowners and got the don't worry bs.

Now I read about failures in 07 thru 09 model years. Granted how the seat is cared for can take its toll but bs like don't get them wet causes me to just laugh. I thought boats could get wet. How silly of me.

Whether the boat is 15 years old or almost new the seats should hold up. All the bs about which cleaner to use is bs. If the cleaner is meant for cleaning vinyl it should not cause failures. Being around boats for 41+ years and boating I had 1 seat where vinyl pulled through and It was easily remedied with a throw cushion.

What amazes me is a $10,000.00 Bayliner seats out last some Tige seats on $38K and up boats. Hell it is even getting the $70K Tiges (list of course)

Rant off

I 100% disagree. you can say you have been around boats for a long time all you want, but certain cleaners do hurt vinyls and stitching. I dont own a Tige' or any other boat, but i am in the classic car business and boat business, and when we are cleaning a car that is worth $250,000.00 we damn sure know what vinyl cleaner to use. (Form 1967 Shelby GT500's to 1967 Corvette's to chargers, gto's, you name it, these are cars that blow mastercraft pricing out of the water, people that spend 100,000 in restorations do not use crap vinyl cleaners whether they say vinyl cleaner or not.) and when we are cleaning cars that have vinyl dashes or whatever it may be we know what cleaners to use. So when you are cleaning with some crap product dont be surprised when you Tige' MC BU CC Moomba Supra Centurion vinyl takes a crap on you.

[TeamAllen]

All I can add is Tigé did it right in 1997. My interior is still holding up great, without any problems. it has always been soft and comfortable.

[talltigeguy]

Kona,

I think your concerns are justified. I would not replace the current stuff with more of the same, either. I bet you would get better results from a local vinyl shop. It is going to cost a few bones to get the cushions all re-done, but will likely be more durable.

Are you saying the vinyl in 09's is having issues too? There is no doubt that it is different than what is in the older boats.

I also laugh my guts out when someone tells me not to get the seats wet.

[G-MONEY]

SPBFAN and I are both having the same problem on out 05's with the snake skin looking vinyl on our sun-decks/engine covers. The vinyl is completely cracking around all the small detailed hexagons.

[Guapo]

Are you saying the vinyl in 09's is having issues too? There is no doubt that it is different than what is in the older boats.

I'd be curious in regards to the 09's. I bought my 09 new in June of last year and put a little over 50 hours on it with no vinyl issues. So far so good....keep the fingers crossed...

Anyone with 09's have vinyl issues?

[dingleberry]

I'd be curious in regards to the 09's. I bought my 09 new in June of last year and put a little over 50 hours on it with no vinyl issues. So far so good....keep the fingers crossed...

Anyone with 09's have vinyl issues?

Our back seat skin is supposedly on order for replacement. We started to get some tearing of the vinyl happening where sharp angles of different colors meet.

My guess (completely uneducated regarding vinyl and upholstery) is that such sharp "corners" or "points" result in stress concentrations which lead to tears. Yes, the quality of the fabric may have improved, but it appeared to me that the design and cutout patterns of the vinyl were the biggest culprit. More rounded seams would possibly result in fewer issues.

[da.bell]

Then Tige should fire the who does the sewing and hire a new one.

[Guapo]

Our back seat skin is supposedly on order for replacement. We started to get some tearing of the vinyl happening where sharp angles of different colors meet.

My guess (completely uneducated regarding vinyl and upholstery) is that such sharp "corners" or "points" result in stress concentrations which lead to tears. Yes, the quality of the fabric may have improved, but it appeared to me that the design and cutout patterns of the vinyl were the biggest culprit. More rounded seams would possibly result in fewer issues.

Dingle...How many hours do you have on yours?

[Matt Garcia]

Hmmm. I have close to 400 hours on my RZ2 vinyl and have only had to replace on piece of vinyl. It was the rear seat and it started to tear in the middle at 300 hours.

I guess its the luck of the draw? I do pay attention to where I step though. I try to step in the corner sections or on the seats that have a separation point. I try not to step directly in the middle of the seat/vinyl where it puts stress on all of the seams.

However my 2001 model did have vinyl issues but that was some time ago.

[dingleberry]

Dingle...How many hours do you have on yours?

Only about 50 hrs on the motor. And a lot of "float and lounge" hours with wet kids climbinb in/out of the boat constantly.

[Guapo]

I'll have to keep an eye on it...you guys have me paranoid...

[da.bell]

Hmmm. I have close to 400 hours on my RZ2 vinyl and have only had to replace on piece of vinyl. It was the rear seat and it started to tear in the middle at 300 hours.

I guess its the luck of the draw? I do pay attention to where I step though. I try to step in the corner sections or on the seats that have a separation point. I try not to step directly in the middle of the seat/vinyl where it puts stress on all of the seams.

However my 2001 model did have vinyl issues but that was some time ago.

x2 I have only had one issue and that was a seam issue and got fixed within 8 weeks.

[Oklahoma Breakdown]

So odd, the posts about more probs with new vinyl than old. I would be interested in the correlation. My 99 is in great shape save for some pull through issues in a few areas but the seats are definitely not as comfortable and supple as the newer models.

And not so sure I would be as diplomatic when someone assumes our issues all stem from using "crap cleaners"

[eks]

My 07 is still okay, but I can see lots of areas where the vinyl is starting to go bad next to the seams. I always use the "Babe" stuff and kept the boat inside when I am not using it. I have around 100 hours on it.

I bet my has one, may be two years, before I have to replace it. The vinyl used is "CRAP".