Replacement Cushions

My husband and I are currently working on our 73 Gulfstar. *She needs lots of love to get her where we need her to be. *Our plan is to live aboard in 2 years. One of my jobs is to replace all of the cushions, V-berth, dinette and the main sleeping quarters. *I am going to be making the covers myself, but am looking for some ideas on what folks think is the best type of foam to use. *The current foam is in pretty sad shape and smells of diesel fuel. *Also any suggestions on where to purchase the foam? *Since I am new to all of this I am up for any and all suggestions. *Pictures of anyone's own projects would be also helpful. *

Google foam cushions. I just did it the other day and was shocked by how much good info there is about choice of material, and suppliers. If the current ones smell from diesel though, check the tank vent just to be safe. Should not have any lingering odor in the vessel. Google marine cushions and you will fing all kinds of speciality shapes. Enjoy the project !

-- Edited by Old Stone on Monday 5th of March 2012 04:09:17 PM

I don't know about the foam but I used sumbrella fabric and they came out wonderful. I have a post that has pictures, I'll find it hold on,,,,,here it comes,,,,
http://www.trawlerforum.com/t44155608/work-in-progress-65-lugger-reworked-after-a-fire/
I paid 6 grand for whats in the pictures. 25 or 28 cushions I don't remember. That sum or sunbrella fabric is the bomb and they turned out great. Good luck, I wish I had the skills to do that.

Pop in on a local canvas person. I'm sure they could help you and possibly get you a good price on the foam.

Hi

I restore antique and do lots of chairs , sofa and couches, ects. send me a email and I can help with the fabric and the foam. there is special foam for boat that let the water go threw and not stay in side for mold and mildew.

and if anyone else need help or new canvas or cushions feel free to email.

shannon

olesouth@hotmail.com

Beware , there is a huge difference in foam to sleep on and foam to sit on.

For sleeping my choice is really heavy (54 wide mattress ) urathane will weigh 50 -60 lbs.

This can be washed if seawater gets to it.

On many boats the seating or sleeping surface is a slab of plywood , and this requires far different foam than home style surfaces.

This is a project that we did on our 28' Bayliner -- it took us about 6 months, but we were very casual in our approach, working on the cushions for just a couple hours here and there. We estimated the whole project (9 cushions) took ~24 hours of actual work. We are about to start the same project on our 34' CHB.

I've attached a bunch of pictures of the results. It's not a project I would hesitate to start again (as opposed to the complete head replacement -- if I never do that project again, it'll be too soon).

We also covered much of the paneling under the cushions with vinyl -- really made the cushions look better (and tan/neutral carpeting even more so).

All in all, we loved the results* -- and the whole makeover was less than 2 (large) boat-bucks, most of that being the new foam.


-- Edited by mattkab on Monday 12th of March 2012 10:45:18 AM

Matt what kind of fabric is that on the new cushions?* Ultra suede?

Yes, that was ultrasuede. With vinyl on the bottoms.

Very easy material to work with, and with a small child and dog, very easy to keep the appearance of being clean.

Man.....a 28 ft. Bayliner? That's a heck of a salon and seating area for a 28 footer. Cushions look great.

Here are a few more pictures of the project that I found.

My wife would cut and pin the cushions together, I would try to sew the seams in a straight line, and then we would shove the foam in and zip it up as tight as possible. We got better as the project went along -- the first few cushions are too loose fitting.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. *Way to expensive to have them done by a professional*so I tackled it myself. *Here is a photo of my first one. *Started with the smallest one first, will work my way up from there. *Because of renovations on the boat the cushions will stay at the house until everything is complete. One down 6 more to go!!!*

Momma Kent wrote:
Thanks everyone for the great advice. *Way to expensive to have them done by a professional*so I tackled it myself. *Here is a photo of my first one. *Started with the smallest one first, will work my way up from there. *Because of renovations on the boat the cushions will stay at the house until everything is complete. One down 6 more to go!!!*

Click to expand...

*VERY nicely done.* I love the fabric.

I agree. Very nice.

How was working with the piping? We are debating whether or not to do that ourselves on this next project.

Watch the Sailrite videos. It's a breeze but there is a learning curve. Bess and my first attempt turned out good (so-so to me) and since we've done a few more that have gotten progressively better. When we are done with some other stuff, we'll revisit the first ones and hopefully improve our technique.

Okay after several months I have finished pretty much all of my new cushions. I have attached a picture of some in place. Once I got started they went smoother than I thought they would. So thankful for my husband (Bilgewater) encouragement. It saved us so much money.

Greetings,
The heck with the money, those look REALLY good.

Hey there - if you want a REALLY nice comfortable sleep, first determine what your finished cushion height will be, for example - 5 inches. Buy four inches of medium density foam and cap it with 1 inch quality memory foam (Make sure the memory foam is of high enough density to support your body properly. The best way to know is to check the package for the density of the foam. Cheap foam is normally 2 to 3 lb. density, mid-grade foam is 3 to 4.5 lb. density and good foam is over 4.5 lb. density. Usually, 5.3 lb. to 6.2 lb is considered the ideal density to properly support the human body. The lighter grade foam won't support you and will quit returning to its original shape after only a few months.) Also, Latex foam, while more expensive, has the added benefit of bringing an anti-mold and anti-mildew quality to a boat bed as well as adding even more bounce for an all around enjoyable night of rest.