Can I retrofit new GW seats into my 275?

[mr_mbuna]

Has anyone ever retrofitted 2016+ seats into a 2015 or earlier GW 275 Freedom? The new seat designs look much more modern, and from a quick glance at photos the dimensions don't look different from the original seat designs.

I emailed GW once about a year ago and they said they wouldn't sell me the new seats as loose parts. I haven't tried doing the same through my local dealer. I've spoken to some upholstery shops but it sounds like it would be $20K-$30K to build custom seats. (What I'm even more surprised to hear is that it's $10k-$20K just to recover the seats as-is.)

 

[wahoo33417]

A quick call to Grady should give you an answer you can rely on. They are really good at such things. They even helped me track down the right Bennett trim tab part number for my 2007 Sailfish. Or if your seats are made by Pompanette, you can get an answer from them as well.

You can likely even buy the new seat from Pompanette for a lot less that what Grady charges. The catch is Pompanette can't sell the seat in Grady's color to anyone but Grady.

I went the route of buying the seat from Pompanette and have not regretted the snow white color given what I paid for it.

Rob

 

[RobboNJ]

Wahoo, do you have any pics of your new seats that you can share? I have a 2008 Sailfish 282 and would like to get an idea of what new seats would look like. My originals are in decent shape, though the arm rest on the captain's chair is slihtly worn and the co-pilot chair keeps getting moldy. TIA

 

[Ekea]

$20-30k for new upholstery?!?!?! wtf?? that is stupid. i just re-did ALL the upholstery in my chase for less than $8k. that included rear bench, helm seat, front seat on console forward seating, rear cockpit side and transom bolsters (combing pads), and adding forward seating backrest pads that wrap the whole way around. this included all materials, labor, and tax

 

[mr_mbuna]

@Ekea where? I see your location is Mid Atlantic. I’ll tow my boat 200 miles to save $2k+. I’ve gotten 5 quotes: $8k (new quote this morning), $10k, $10k, $15k, $21k. Custom seats are just an undefined “a lot more.”

 

[Ekea]

Canvas Plus in North East, MD

 

[wahoo33417]

Wahoo, do you have any pics of your new seats that you can share? I have a 2008 Sailfish 282 and would like to get an idea of what new seats would look like. My originals are in decent shape, though the arm rest on the captain's chair is slihtly worn and the co-pilot chair keeps getting moldy. TIA

Robbo: Dont' want to hijack this thread, so I'll start a new thread just to answer this question.