Interior Boat Cushions

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by EllesBelles

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.

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

Really, in only three years, I thought that stuff was indestructable. The interior in my boat is original, 27 yrs old but fabric is in stellar shape, foam has lost a lot of it's cushion though, and I was seriously considering ultra leather as the fabric I have is in excellent shape, but style wise is obviously dated.
You shure it's real ultra leather?

[Greenhand]

The interior settee cushions have been stapled to plywood backs. Is this necessary? It makes the settees a bit high and it makes accessing the undersides cumbersome, since the cushions way so much. We are hoping they just did it as an easy way out of upholstery, rather than being an important part of the process.

[a64pilot]

The backs of mine are on plywood, and on mine that is very necessary, you wouldn't get the cushions to stay upright without it.
Of course yours may be different

[EllesBelles]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Really, in only three years, I thought that stuff was indestructable. The interior in my boat is original, 27 yrs old but fabric is in stellar shape, foam has lost a lot of it's cushion though, and I was seriously considering ultra leather as the fabric I have is in excellent shape, but style wise is obviously dated.
You shure it's real ultra leather?

I know. It's the weirdest thing. The wood finishes and ultra-leather took a bad hit condition-wise from something. The boat was stored on the hard, we think in Trinidad, for at least one summer, and we had some experts guess the boat it was not climate-controlled and the finishes simply baked, or suffered from wide variations in temperature, and broke down. Have you heard of that happening?
I like the softness of ultra-leather alot - and generally it's quite durable - and think you would be making a good decision to go that way.
Good luck!

[darylat8750]

Steve Dashew says that one of the secrets to cushions that keep their shape and look good for a long time is plywood backing.

On my boat the various pieces that make up the v berth with the filler have small edge peices to keep the cusions in place. These pieces cause discomfort when in any of multiple positions. When we redo them we will use plywood or something to even up most of that ridge.

[Greenhand]

Thank goodness for the internet and this thread. I got quite excited because Joann Fabrics is having a 50% off sale - everything is still more expensive than it is on Sailrite and I almost grabbed a type of fabric that doesn't wash well. Unfortunately, I almost grabbed it because it was just like what the new cushions in the cabins are made of