Interior Boat Cushions

[Dennis.G]

We (mostly my wife) are making all new cushions for inside of boat. New foam and covers of leatherette type fabric. Not too hard if you have a sewing machine that can handle the fabric, as it is all straight seams. Sailrite has a couple of instructional DVDs on doing this, and they are a great help.

Having this done by a professional is great, but is going to be very expensive.

[gmcairns]

We just had the cushions on our Catalina 30 1989 redone. We used a local shop who does custom cars and boats. We reused the foam but they added a white pad material to aid the overall look and feel $40 extra. Price for all 17 cushions was $1400. we are very happy with the results.

[martinjrichter]

I make furniture as a side line and have used Foam and More out of MI. They are on the net. I found them to be very helpful. Fabric is a difficult matter as some of the prices are out of sight Good luck finding quality stuff at a reasonable cost.

[Danibug]

Tate and I sort of went through the same thing when we bought Sundowner. The cushions were in left on the boat that reeked of diesel and mildew etc. I took all of the covers off and cleaned the foam and covers seperate. They are like brand new now.

Granted the canvas was in OK condition to start. Here is an excerpt from the blog post I made about it:

"About a year ago when we bought Sundowner the first thing we did was take all of the interior cushions off the boat. They reeked of diesel. Over the next month I took the canvas covers off of the cushions, washed them in simple green multiple times, sprayed them with Febreeze and then put them in the sun to dry.

During all of this I also took the foam outside and soaked them in water and simple green. I jumped around like on a trampoline on the cushions to clean them, and then let them “dry in the sun”. Now this may have looked pretty funny to the neighbors, but it got the inner most part of the cushions clean. One week later the cushions were still wet..so I took about 4 big towels and jumped on the towel on the foam to pull the water out.

I would dry the towels in the dryer when they were saturated, and start the jumping process all over again. When they were mostly dry I soaked them in Febreeze numerous times and stood them in the utility room to dry. This really was alot of work..but the end result is interior salon and Vberth cushion and covers that don’t stink!

I figure I saved us $1,500-$2000 in new foam and covers so it was worth it. When we moved into the condo together we put our king size bed on risers to make room to store the salon cushions underneath. The Vberth cushions are in the office closet. Both sets patiently awaiting to return to the boat…"

Look around for local folks who do canvas work, my mom does canvas work and cushion repair and works for herself at her own shop. She has good prices and does a good job. I know there must be others out there like that.
Dani

[Cheechako]

Be careful going "too cushy" on new foam. In one boat, I opted for thick foam thinking it would be more comfortable.... what it did was make the seats too high to be comfortable! Never thought about the dry cleaning angle .... good idea. Perc ought to take out grease stains etc.. I often wonder why upholstery people insist on zippers.... seems a fold over flap with maybe some velcro would be cheaper and as good....

[CoastalLiving]

Thank you for your feedback!

[oldragbaggers]

If you have basic sewing skills you can do them yourself. Boat cushions are not really difficult. Sailrite has a lot of online DVDs that show the techniques in great detail. They have really good prices on Sunbrella upholstery fabrics which will stand up better in the marine environment than most residential grade upholstery fabrics.

I used to take my old cushions to a foam shop to have new stuff cut, but this time I am buying my foam from the Foam Factory (online) and cutting it myself. I built a teardrop camper last year and cut the foam myself for that. It was a lot easier than I thought using an electric knife. (I am in the process of doing all new cushions for a Catalina 25). For the difference in do-it-yourself and having it done you could buy yourself a Sailrite sewing machine and still come out ahead.

[cabo_sailor]

I am in the process of making the second set of cabin cushion covers for our boat. The first time was a little scary since my sewing skills were restricted to replacing a button on a shirt. I bought a Sailrite machine along with their video on making cushion covers. They turned out great. My wife wanted white naugasoft covers and although I was leary about white, I made them. Well, the white didn't last too long so now I'm making replacements with a fabric with a nautical theme.

Point is, you can do it yourself but the initial investment in the sewing machine and attachments is not insignificant. Just a guess, but I think if that is all you are ever going to do, have someone else do it. On the other hand, I have used the same equipment to make sail covers, outboard covers, cockpit cushions, and a helm seat cover for a power boater (I know, don't hate me, he only need one replacement and I had been drinking when I promised to do it ). In short, I continue to use the sewing machine and accessories so my initial investment has paid for itself.

I would suggest you go to the Sailrite shop, look at their online videos, and decide if you wish to DIY or pay someone else. As I said, with no experience and with their instructional video, I found it a piece of cake. Count on roughly 4-5 hours per cushion. I must have some Scottish blood in me, I got tired of paying for replacement razor inserts and changed over to a straight razor. For the same reason I chose to do my own sewing when possible.

Either way, I am sure it will turn out great.

Regards,
Rich

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by CoastalLiving

Hello all,
I have a Catalina 30' (1984) and I am doing a lot of interior work to restore it to it's top condition. All of the interior cushions need to be replaced. I have no idea where to start looking. Any suggested websites or advice?
Thanks so much!

We had custom upholstery done on our foam mats. I bought 4" open cell biocide treated urethane foam from Order sheets of foam for upholstery or crafts. Outdoor foam, high density, Memory foam, mattress toppers, bed bolsters, chair pads, cushions, wedges, decorator pillow inserts, dog bed cores. for the V-berth. the edges can be easily bonded using recommended glue so waste is minimized.

Mast steps from Marine parts Depot - too high to climb.

The center insert board is mahogony Ply with Jahra and Wlanut edges.

Look for Rain Through https://www.foamcenter.com/Merchant2...gory_Code=RAIN

fabric here (red pineapples) Retro Upholstery Fabrics, Geometric items in ADF Upholstery Fabric Outlet store on eBay!

[Capt Gary]

I replaced all of the interior cushions on my Pearson 39-2 when I purchased it a couple of years ago. The forward and aft cabins still had useable foam and we bought good sunbrella interior fabric to cover them with. My mother-in law was able to replace the fabric by using the old covers as a template.

The main salon had cushions that looked like they came off someone's living room couch and were thrown in there to fill up space. As a result, we had to buy foam and fit it ourselves. Foam is expensive!!!! We went with 4" on the seat bottoms and 3" on the seat backs. That worked well.

Cutting the foam is relatively easy if you use a sharp electric carving knife (like my father used to use to carve a turkey). A seamstress neighbor covered the foam cushions for us and did a great job. Although the sunbrella fabric was expensive, I think it is worth it in the long run. The biggest expense however was the foam. We are very happy with the results!

[oldragbaggers]

I second the poster you suggested the Foam Factory. We built a teardrop camper and I used them for the foam for our mattresses. The first time around I used the Super Soft 5". It was too soft for my husband. With only 4" thickness it might tend to bottom out on seats. So I replaced it with the HD36-R which is nice and firm. I am getting ready to make new cushions for our Catalina 25 and that is what I plan to use, covered in Sunbrella. You can get a king sized sheet of the 4" thick for $115 and shipping is free on orders over $75. You should be able to get quite a few cushions out of a king sized sheet. The 3" thick for the seat backs is only $45.20 for a twin XL sheet, which should be plenty for the 3 pieces I need to make. Even if you needed 2 king size sheets, you're talking less than $300 for foam. That's not too terrible.

I find Sunbrella and other indoor/outdoor upholstery fabrics on eBay all the time for good prices. Years ago I splurged on a Sailrite LS-1 basic sewing machine and it has paid me back many times over in what I have saved doing my own canvas and upholstery.

[jtsailjt]

When choosing your new foam, you have a choice of thickness that's been discussed but you also have a choice of firmness to consider. The firmness is personal preference and firmer foam is more expensive but I think it's worth it to be comfortable. When making that decision, you need to consider whether you will be mostly sitting or laying on the foam. If the foam is for a place where you primarily will be sitting, you will need stiffer foam to keep from "bottoming" out because all your weight is concentrated in a relatively small area compared to when you are laying down and your weight is distributed the whole length of your body. You almost can't go too firm for your settees. For seat backs that will never be subjected to much pressure, you can save a little money and use foam that is less firm or even reuse the old foam.

Other than buying a custom, inner spring mattress for your V-berth or queen sized bed, one very comfy solution is to have 4" cushions made of very stiff foam. The common problem with them is the crack down the middle that you inevitably find yourself falling into. You can have a flap made to enable you to velcro them together but then there's a slight bump in the middle. So, buy a queen sized sheet of 2" memory foam and cut it to fit the whole V-berth area (since the edges slope outward to conform to the hull shape, don't forget to account for that when cutting) and lay it over your very stiff 4" cushions and have a fitted sheet made to cover both layers of cushions to use as a semi-permanent mattress cover. The 2" memory foam gives you the sensation that you are sinking into a soft bed and covers up the bump or the crack down the middle, but the 4" firm foam beneath ensures that you will never bottom it out.

When having new covers made for settees, don't let them sew decorative buttons through the foam because then you can't remove the covers for cleaning and you'll probably want to. Ultrasuede and Sunbrella are both great choices because they are very durable and you can throw them in the wash and they'll come out looking like new. I'm reclining on a deep red ultrasuede covered sofa right now and we have a golden retreiver/chocolate lab mix who never likes to be more than a foot from me and sheds constantly, but the ultrasuede sofa is 10 years old and still looks like new despite having been washed many dozens of times. It's pricey compared to many other fabrics but worth it IMHO. If your foam is cut correctly to fit tightly into your covers, it'll be difficult taking them on and off and, in addition to using patience so you don't rip a seam or zipper, use thin household trash bags or drycleaning suit covers over the foam so it will slide into the cover more easily. If you want to, once the foam is in place, you can remove the thin plastic or just leave it there.

[jeepbluetj]

We did all new covers on our C30. Sewed em myself, the wife did the staple gun duties on the backs.

We reused the old foam after much cleaning - just because foam was expensive, and because it was all the right shape already.

[Showsea]

This was a very good thread! I have just had my C25 completely rewired and painted for less than what it has been quoted for settee and v - birth cushions. I don't have the originals but I will do this.

[EllesBelles]

Originally Posted by CoastalLiving

Hello all,
I have a Catalina 30' (1984) and I am doing a lot of interior work to restore it to it's top condition. All of the interior cushions need to be replaced. I have no idea where to start looking. Any suggested websites or advice?
Thanks so much!

Hi Coastal Living,

I've been going through the same thing on a boat I'm considering buying - only a 2011, but the ultraleather is completely falling apart on every interior cushion.

Where are you based? I've been getting bids from a number of people in South Florida who do upholstery work and cushions if that would be helpful.

Here's a site I found that gives good info on choices of materials and relative pluses and minuses of each: marinefabricatormag.com/articles/0508_f2_choosing.html