Jack...vinyl and skin always will "go together". Approach 1 -- wear long pants. I don't wear shorts at "sea" because it keeps the sun off. But that's not an option for others... so, Approach 2 - consider sunbrella as the seat cover material. It's waterproof at least for a while until you wash it the wrong way (see mfr's instructions). And if it isn't waterproof, i THINK it will be porous enough to lete moisture escape thru evaporation.

Whatever you choose, remember that water will come thru the seam and stitching into the foam under the cover. I drilled a number of holes in the wooden bottom support so water had at least some place to escape. Also, paint that wood well so it doesn't absorb water. I've had two seats rot out because the wood wasn't prepped.

Jack,

A couple of considerations from the past when I had seats redone:
- Use exterior grade plywood.
--> You may wish to soak the wood in Thompson's Water Seal which makes it virtually
imperveous to water.
** Cut your drain holes first. End grains and hole grains'll soak up the sealer
like a sponge (good thing).
- Use marine grade naugahyde which will keep down/prevent mildew from occuring.
(Joel's comments about water seepage is dead on. You can't keep water out so using
marine grade works well.)
--> I've found upholstery shops will carry this type of thing locally in Cincy, so
you may find it easily as well.
--> Naugahyde will she a lot of water where any fabric (non stickin' to skin) won't.
It's a trade off. A towel or terry cloth cover will give you the benefit of
not stickin', ease of cleaning, and water shedding.

Bill

I would use West System ( not west marine)epoxy to seal the wood if you really want it sealed. Saw out any large holes first and then mix up a batch and coat away. It's not real expensive and you'll have some unmixed epoxy and hardener left over, but it will last a loooong time (unmixed of course) and you will find lots of uses for it. You can thicken it with sawdust or factory supplied additives to make it into a paste for other projects. Great to have around the shop.
Sean

I guess we are talking about the bench behind the flybridge chairs. I need to rebuild mine. I've got heavy bent metal legs and backrest pieces - that is all. I thought I would check to see if any ready made outdoor furniture cushions would work. That would be quickest. As for the chairs I got two inexpensive ones from Amazon. Prime members get free second day shipping. Finding sliders that fit was the hard thing. My seat pedestals appear to be welded to the bases. I greatly underestimated the time it would take to rebuild the entire flybridge.

Jack - I took my new cockpit plywood to a Rhinoliner dealer. It was $150 dollars for a grey non-slip coating one side with about six inch overlap on the underside. I should have inset the scupper drains otherwise I am very happy with the results. They have the hatchcover and tabletop for my sailboat now.

This new stuff I saw appears to be very thick on application directly to wood and water tight. My concern is how well it does on the abrasivess of the structure flexing and was intregued by the low cost and soap and water clean up. I may give it a try to sneak a couple of extra years out of the back floor. Will report back after a few more years (and several rum and cokes)PS Guys don't hold your breaths on this one! Jack.