New Cabin Cushions

[Captain Smollett]

This evening, my wife walked in the front door with a cushion in her hand.  Asked her what it was and she tossed it at me, saying "Do you like this pattern for the boat?"  I looked, and said "sure."  "Good thing," she replied, "because I already got them done."   ;D

A couple of weeks ago, I had to go out of town for a day.  She "snuck" onto the boat, removed ALL the cushions, took them to a lady we know that does that sort of thing, bought fabric, returned the old cusions to the boat so I wouldn't know, and waited til they were done.

Simply Amazing.

Another amazing thing is that our 3 yo daughter knew about it and did not tell me (she has a reputation letting gift secrets fly out of the excitement of the moment).   :)

Here's to salty spouses! 

[Zen]

Nice!! lucky guy!  :)

[Pixie Dust]

Give that woman a Karma Pop!!   That is extra special.  Nothing like good secrets coming out.   Cannot believe the little one was able to keep it too.  She is being trained young.  :)

[CapnK]

Cool, John! What a great surprise... :D

Should I send mine up, now that yours are done?

;D

[Sunset]

Has anyone ever tried using a futon mattress on their V berth? I was reading in a book the other day about cheap fixes, at books-a-million. This person said you could buy a futon mattress and cut it to fit your V berth then resew the edges. Supposedly it worked real nice and had a descent amount of comfort. About $100 fix. I guess I could cut one for the quarter berth also.
A fellow can do a lot of things but that don't mean that he should.
I should mention that my boat will be used mostly for overnighters, weekends and a few vacations.

[AdriftAtSea]

The real problem I see with using a futon mattress, is that they're very heavy for the amount of padding you get, and futons take forever to dry...it would become a mildew/mold magnet for your boat if it even got the teeniest bit wet.

[Zen]

also for the amount of work to fit it right you could get foam cut to the size you need. less weight, drys faster,

[Sunset]

I have been wondering about the mold thing. I just got two estmates on the V berth and quarter berth. :o Sailrite gave me a materials only price of around $980 using 4" fast drying foam and didn't say what covering. :o Defenders.com a price of $650 for finished mattress's using 5" foam and sunbrella zippered covers.
Just seems like a lot of money for the two mattress's. But the major problem may be that I am to cheap.

[AdriftAtSea]

Might be worth looking to get the foam wholesale, from a foam distributor.  I've priced similar things, like StarBoard, at the distributors and at marine suppliers, and it was the exact same material at about a 1/6 the price.  I'm sure that the markup on foam by Sailrite or Defender is pretty sizeable.  Then, all you'd have to do is get some good material, sunbrella, phifertex, whatever, to cover the foam with.  Cutting it is pretty easy if you have an electric carving knife... gives a nice clean cut, with very little effort.

[Zen]

I would suggest the same. Most times cheaper to do it yourself, you cut out a lot of middle markup. Also you an change some of the style to make it easier to do. eg: we changes all our zipperes to Velcro

[LauraG]

Check into a different foam supplier. I did all the interior cushions on our last two boats. Used  4" medium density foam at a cost of around $125 on each boat. I bought some good upholstery fabric from the remnant table at Hancock Fabrics for $2 a yard for the first boat and $4 a yard for the second boat.  You don't need a marine fabric for interior cushions. Just make sure you get something that doesn't have cotton in it. Cotton just acts as a wick for moisture.

[AdriftAtSea]

LauraG has a good point... I'd also second avoiding any natural fibers, except possibly wool, as the natural fibers tend to hold moisture and tend towards mold/mildew more than the synthetics.  The only reason I would use the marine fabrics on the interior cushions is that then they can be used on-deck with relative safety.   Of course, my boat has considerably more deck area than yours probably does, as it is a multihull...and I often have the crew lolling about the deck, instead of working.

[Pixie Dust]

I have my old foam cushions on the v-berth, then I bought a queen size memory foam mattress and laid it on top of the other.  I think it is 1 1/2-2 inches thick.  I trimmed it to fit the v-berth and it works great.  My little cave is very comfortable.  I open and lay a sleeping bag on it, then a sheet and tuck it all in nice for the summer months. (extra padding)  I just use the sleeping bag as the base in the winter.  Makes for a comfortable bed. 

[Sunset]

Thanks for the tips and ideas. Sounds like another winter project.

[Lost Lake]

I searched posts for three hours (of course I get caught up in everyone's tales and read a lot), but I need to re-do my cushions. They are worn and sagging a bit in the high traffic 'sitting' area.

Should I put in any old foam? I have vinyl covers that are in good shape, but of course cloth would be nice. If I use cloth, does the foam need to be closed cell? Should I use closed cell either way? And I suppose the firmer it is, the better.

Thanks for any advice!

[AdriftAtSea]

You should probably replace the foam. 

Close cell foam won't absorb water, but it doesn't breathe either.  Open cell foam is probably better choice for cloth covers, since they will breathe.  Most of the better cushions have a core of higher density foam and then an outer layer of slightly lighter foam.  This way you'll get some good support but the cushion will be more comfortable.

Purchasing the foam from a wholesaler or distributor will be much cheaper than buying it from a marine chandlery. 

Chilling the foam and cutting it with an electric carving knife is a pretty good way to cut it fairly cleanly, even if you have odd shapes to cut.

[W Jones]

Closed cell is used on outside cushions and is WAY expensive. It would be great inside but not even high end boats have it. There are also lots of grades and firmness of regular foam. Some people layer it using a layer of firmer foam under a inch or two of a softer foam. On cushions that are just sat on a firmer foam should be used as your posterior has a lot less square inches than your back so the psi is higher and you will "bottom out"if the foam is soft. On cushions that serve both purposes you will have to compromise. Make your cushions as thick as you have room for and can afford the foam. If you use the old covers you will have to stick to the original thickness of foam of course.

If you replace the covers try not to use cotton as it absorbs water. You can use automotive material and save some money but marine stuff may be more mildue resistant.  Most big towns have at least one place that sells foam and material.

Since foam and most non cotton material is petroleum based brace yourself when you price it.

[CharlieJ]

Laura bought the material we used to cover cushions in our last two boats on the remnant racks of a local fabric store- the UPHOLSTERY remnants.

It's scotch guarded stuff and she got it for something like 4 bucks a yard for high dollar goods.

[Lost Lake]

$4 a yard is great!! I have these old vinyl covers that are in great shape, but they are white and I'd like something less sticky and more colorful!

[AdriftAtSea]

Whatever material you decide to get, don't get any natural fibers... they tend to mildew or rot pretty quickly on a boat... synthetics are much better for a boat. One good material choice might be the new microfiber fabrics, since they're relatively comfortable to the touch, resist staining and spills relatively well, and not that difficult to sew.