Deteriorating Helm seat vinyl

[MissJill]

Guys -
I have a 2012 R27, with 350 hrs on the clock (and my bottom). The helm seat vinyl started deteriorating (peeling off) about a yr ago - I temporarily 'fixed' it with colored (tan) duct tape which lasted about 2 months then it continued to peel off.

It looks terrible so I took the seat to a highly reputable auto and boat upholsterer shop here in Wilmington NC; they can fix it (for great a expense) but said that the vinyl failure was not a workmanship issue but the result of a poor piece of vinyl which appeared like a poor and shoddy 'run' of that material.

To me this is a warrantee issue and embarrassing since the rest of the vessel is so well made.

If you could send me a replacement seat cover - I will have the upholster re-fit it here.
I could/can send pics of the peeling but unable to figure out how to post those pics on this forum

Standing by for you reply
Thanks -

John Kelly
Miss Jilly
R27 HIN# FMLT2702D112

 

[knotflying]

This has been an ongoing problem. Ranger seems to have dropped the supplier and changed the covering layout for obvious reasons, but it seems there is no restitution from the supplier.

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

I have patterned and made my own cover that slips over the existing cover and is attached with Velcro. Being removable and washable makes for a nice helm seat. I am going to change to snaps and make two or three to take on Ladybug, Too. I am trying terry cloth, Sunbrella and some really good vinyl. It may be that on my 2009 R-29 it is easy to do but I cannot see why it should cost that much. The seams are fairly simple and you don't have to remove the existing vinyl. I will try to post some pictures. I am a rank amateur with a Sailrite LSZ-1 marine sewing machine and I must admit that my first attempts were a bit hokey.

Pat
Ladybug, Too

 

[Kenny Marrs]

Hello John,

I'm pulling a previous post from Tugnuts Andrew posted. This is our procedure for the upholstery:

The place we used to purchase the material from was Morbern. When our purchasing department approached them about potential issues, they did not want to admit to anything being an issue and really offered no support. If you are the original owner of the vessel, we will replace the peeling upholstery with a new set of skins of what we currently build. If you purchased the vessel used, we will sell you a set at our cost plus shipping. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Andrewcustis@rangertugs.com.

Hope this helps. If you still have questions please let me know.

Thanks,
-Kenny

 

[Nutedog]

Well John join the club. I have a 2012 Cutwater 28 which must have the same bad run of upholstery. I have been communicating with the factory for nearly a year with little to no assistance on this issue. We did purchase slightly used with 47 hours now with 250 hours in Southwest Florida. I have seen same vintage unsold boats with same issues. My seats throughtout the salon look like a dog with a bad case of the mange. Not what you would expect on an otherwise great boat purchased new or slightly use.

My short term solution was to remove seats and find pillow cases that came close in color and fit and covered up the mange.

Your post reminded me it was again time to tickle this issue with customer service.

 

[ronnieg]

Hello John,

I'm pulling a previous post from Tugnuts Andrew posted. This is our procedure for the upholstery:

The place we used to purchase the material from was Morbern. When our purchasing department approached them about potential issues, they did not want to admit to anything being an issue and really offered no support. If you are the original owner of the vessel, we will replace the peeling upholstery with a new set of skins of what we currently build. If you purchased the vessel used, we will sell you a set at our cost plus shipping. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Andrewcustis@rangertugs.com.

Hope this helps. If you still have questions please let me know.

Thanks,
-Kenny

Good morning I am reposting what Kenny posted if the vinyl is peeling and you are the original owner we will ship you new skins of what we are currently using, If you are a second owner we will sell you a set of new skins at our cost plus shipping.
Please feel free to contact any of our customer service team, we will be happy to help.

 

[Namaste]

This was a problem for quite a while, not just a short run. We have a 2010 R25 that was built in 2009. The helm seat flaked apart in less than two years. We paid to have a Punta Gorda, Florida local recover the helm before Ranger made this offer. Both the bolsters in the V-berth are completely disintegrated in the same way. Ranger gave us a quote of around $150.00 each but I am not sure if that includes shipping. Presently waiting for quote from the same local for a recover. Bummer.

 

[vicwa67]

test

 

[knotflying]

Well, I am not an attorney, but as a business owner having been a round the block a few times. Basic law is, any contract (a warranty would be a contract) with ambiguities will be judged in favor of the party who did not draft the document. So a warranty that is not clear will be judged in favor of the purchaser. Obviously whoever told you it could not be transferred was incorrect.
The kicker could be, what is the transfer fee? Hum, I would say at least the cost of the upholstery. 🙁 As a business owner my transfer fee would reflect how much time is left on the warranty. As an astute buyer I would try to find out any common issues with the used product I was buying and try to address those before purchase.

What is also sad is that the upholstery that is peeling was an upgrade in the purchase.

Hopefully you can get this worked out between you and Ranger. There are the rules of law and then there are the rules of business, "A happy customer is your best salesperson" Ranger has a good track record with things most of the time. This one has been a sticky wicket, occasionally raising its ugly head.

 

[scross]

As I have mentioned in other posts about this subject, as a third owner of a R25 Classic with upholstery problems (fabric, vinyl and foam) Ranger Tugs staff treated us very fairly. They do not have the fabric patterns for the R25 Classic any longer so they could not send us cut and stitched direct replacements. Shipping full seats and covers back and forth didn't make any sense either.
Yes, we spent almost $900 in labor getting EVERYTHING reworked after RT sent us new materials but we have a much better looking interior now with seat foam that supports us. The interior doesn't look dated since we copied the look of the new RT interiors.
Work with them. I'm sure you can come to a satisfactory agreement.

 

[Irish Mist]

I also have had trouble with my seats. I am the second owner. I found the factory was very accommodating and helpful. They sent me replacement skins which I paid for, at their cost, in the new pattern with prepaid shipping. I found the foam on the bottom of the dining room seats to be" bottoming out" so I am replacing that foam with the best I could find, at my expense. We live on the boat full time and use those two seats a lot. As with other issues, if you contact the factory they will help you... a lot. Not being the original owner I am very impressed at the quick response and help with any issues I have had in my 5+ years of ownership.
Call them they will help