opinion needed on wood step in middle of sunpad?

[BeavenX5]

I need your opinion:

OK, I have way too many small cracks in the vinyl of my sunpad (2000 X5). Everyone uses the sunpad as a step between the swim platform and the inside of the boat. I decided to re-do the vinyl and have now 3 different options:

1- Change with new skins and have the same problem begin in 5-6 years as there is flaw in the design: too many stiches to stech that causes premature wear.
2- Only change the vinyl where there are cracks. i.e. only the center where there is a patern with stiches with a solid piece of quality vinyl (probably not MC as you can't order fabric only, only skins)
3- re-do the skin with non-MC vinyl with a new design and add a wooden step (teck) in the center of the sunpad (approx 12-16" wide) to use instead of always step on the vinyl.
We never use the sunpad as a sunpad as the boat is used only at our lake house and we have a very nice deck for tanning. Boat is only used for watersports.

I would realy like to know what you all think of the wooden step idea (two little pieces of teck wood) in the center of the pad were the 2 parts of the storage cover meets?

What other solution did you find for this problem? It looks like I am not the only member here with vinyl crack problems on the sunpad or on the rear seat. So far my seat has only few cracks as most people on my boat use the sunpad as a step (knee, butt or even foot:mad: )...

Thanks for your ideas.

PS:
I will probably order the new original MC skins anyway in case I want one day to get it back to its original look ( if I ever want to sell my boat to upgrade)

[east tx skier]

If you built the wooden step, do you think they would use it? Or would they just keep stepping on the ski locker vinyl on either side of it. :)

I like the idea, but people are going to walk where they want to walk unless you ask them nicely not to step on the vinyl. That is, you may work hard and still have the same problem.

[Leroy]

Are you protecting the vinyl (ie 303 or similar) and is it in the sun most of the time or covered and protected most of the time?

Seems like a little early for vinyl failure. I can't think of anything else but doubt the teak concept would work.

[BeavenX5]

I hope that the wood step would be obvious enough for people to naturally use it. My biggest problem are my spoiled kids (10-11) and their friends. You have to keep repeating yourself and ask them (not always nicely:mad: ) to respect the boat a little. In any case, with a new design and significantly less stiches, I hope the new cushion would be more durable than the original skins.

Yes, I use protectant almost every week. At least 2 bottles per year. 2 years ago I was using 3M, last year you guys made me use 303 (had to get it from the States), and this year I use MC vinyl protectant as suggested by my dealer (he even gave me the bottle). The cracks started early last season and got really bad over last winter. The boat was stored in an unheated garage without the cover on so it could breath (remember the bad mildew spring 2006 :mad: ). I gave a generous coat of 303 in October when I stored the boat and again at the end of December when weather got abnormally warm. Still the winter was very hard on the seats:confused:
My boat stays in the water all summer long (beginning of May to end of October) and is under the cover at the mooring when not in use. The seats does get a fair amount of sun and, unfortunately, the cover sometimes gets put on before the boat is dry if we have to head back to town.
My dealer thinks that the seats might have been protected with the wrong product or cleaned too much with fantastic by the original owner (2000-2001-2002-2003). I did not see any signs of failure before early 2006.
The problem with the vinyl is, for the moment, a lot more serious on the sunpad than anywhere else in the boat. I only have 1 or 2 small cracks on the rear seat, on the observer seat and even on the driver seat. One weird thing is that I am 100% certain that nobody ever puts their feet or knee on the driver seats and that most of the time, their is a towel under me or my wife if our bathing suit are wet. Still cracks are starting to show on the driver seat cushion ????

Anyway, I am ordering new skins for the seats and should be OK for another 10 years. The problem is with the sunpad and the abuse it is taking from stepping on the stiches all the time. There are no other way in the boat from the swim platform other than stepping on the rear seat instead which is no better.

Does anyone else here has this problem and found a solution for it?

Thanks.

[fintek9]

My 01 x-stars vinyl were you sit to put on board terrible cracking!!
we do use the sun deck. I'm just going to replace that area (stitching part) with new piece! I like wood allot, unchartered territory you got
??????never know.