[edward cossey]

Hi Guys

how about this . I was raving about the upholstery job i had done on my rear seats and sun pad. but now unfortunatly the head rests were also re uphlolstered and they have fell off, apparently the screw bolt fixings in the head rests have rusted away and the upholstery guy screwed them back with wood screws that are a bit short (about 1.1/2 inches to short ) so now as we bounce about on the water our head rests also bounce about all over the boat, i was wondering does any other Mariah owner have free styling head rests or is my shabah unique,i was thinking of changing the name from sonny boy to disco 252, if any one is envious of me i can give you the shop number and you to can have free style head rests. kidding aside any one got any ideas of the best way to get back to the original fixings. best regards, Ed Cossey, disco' oops (sonny boy)

[WetWilly]

Hello Edward,

It sounds like you want to repair your existing head rests so you can use the same mounting hardware as they originally had which if I'm not mistaken, was about 2-2 1/2" long bolts, washers and " T " nuts inside the headrests.

If the construction of our headrests are the same, the " T " nuts are rusted out. OK, if I've been right up to this point, it's just a matter of removing the staples that secure the headrest upholstery to it's backing along the bottom edge to gain access to the insides. Then punching out the remains of the old rusted " T " nuts and hammering in new SS ones. Reattach the upholstery and use SS bolts and washers to reattach the headrests and everything should be good as new!

Now if your headrests or mountings are different, please include a picture with a return post so we can explore other options.

Good luck,
WetWilly

[edward cossey]

thanks willy

sounds about right to me, just need to find where i can get the T nuts, would you think i would get them from a marine shop, i wont be going out to florida untill november so i will fix them then,

Willy how come your such a guru, do you mess about with boats all day.

thanks again.

Ed: wink_thumbup:

[dwmax]

you can get the t nuts in stainless steel at any nut and bolt place like down here in florida we have whats called a daytona nut and bolt store and they have everything under the sun in ss and rivets and so on good luck and where in florida are you going ?????

[WetWilly]

Hi Edward,

dwmax is right, you should be able to acquire the SS hardware at any good hardware store, I myself, go to the local West Marine for my fastener needs.

As for the guru part, guru I'm not and no, I try not to work on anything too much. It's just that I've been around boats for over 25 years and eventually you end up dealing with similar issues, I've also learned a lot from different people like our members in this club.

What I like best about knowledge is, you can share it,
WetWilly

[edward cossey]

hi DwMax
my boat is kept at Largo Marina, Largo. near Clearwater. we have a couple of West Marine Stores. and Boaters World stores down there. i go out to Florida about 4 times a year my nxt trip is November, so i'll take a look then. maybe theres a Daytona stor around as well, anyways thank a million for your input.

Wet Willy?

thanks again for your input as well
if youve been around boats for all those years, youve got tosome sort of guru. mind you the picture your avatar shows looks like you started out on upside down power tables. ( bet your missus wasn't impressed when she wanted to dish up dinner and found you've nicked the table for a bit of boating. Heh heh.
all the best to all

Ed

[Alexpro]

Hi,

I assume by now that you have taken care of your headrest problem. If not, I am able to repair these for you. I had the same problem and now the fix is better than new. You will be able to install them again in the same manner as they were originally meant. All hardware is Stainless Steel. If interested, let me know.

Regards,
Alex

[edward cossey]

hi alex

thanks for the input but i fixed the head rests last year with stainles T nuts and bolts they are as good as original now. I will be going out to Florida this month and thinkng of replacing the steering cable has any one replaced the steering cables before i would like to know if its hard to do or should i leave it to a marine shop to do

all the best

Ed Cossey ( sonny boy )