Stiff vinyl

What causes stiff vinyl on the seats in the boat? I've had my 02 xstar for four seasons now. I've only used exquisite, babes seat saver, and 303 over the years. This year I noticed there ate some very stiff areas of the vinyl. I actually stepped on a seat last night barefoot and heard a pop sound. Looked down and there was about a 5 inch tear in the vinyl. That area of the seat feels really stiff, not soft and supple like the most of the rest of the boat. Also noticed the drivers seat feels very stiff in areas. What would cause this? If the original owner used the wrong type of cleaner 5 years ago, would that show up now?

THE SUN! And the natural Oxidization process of vinyl, sucks man I feel your pain. You can always buy new seat skins from Mastercraft.

Any one got a ballpark figure on cost ?

also when people soak themselve in sunblock and then lay on your seats. Then that sunblock on your seat sits in the sun and drys it out.

Get yourself some seat savers, and stop stepping on the vinyl. These distribute your weight so it's not concentrated right where you're stepping, splitting your seams or splitting your vinyl.

http://www.seatsaver.com/