Fixing cushions - surely theres a good way?

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Pau Amma

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My cushions in the saloon are fixed to the tops of the lockers using small round discs of velcro. The solution is poor. They ping off and also get "furred" up.

Has anyone worked out a good system for doing this that enables relatively hassle free access to the lockers below at the same time as being secure enough??

Cheers
Matthew
 
Press-studs & straps sewn to each cushion, attached at the back? Wooden "fiddle" attached to the inboard side to stop cushions slipping off?
 
Velcro is fine - but would probably work better as long strips sewn to the backs of the cushions/glued & stapled to the backboard. Works for me. And a suede brush cleans up velcro pretty well...
 
Lodesman77 said:
Velcro is fine - but would probably work better as long strips sewn to the backs of the cushions/glued & stapled to the backboard. Works for me. And a suede brush cleans up velcro pretty well...
Click to expand...

Yes if you go to a haberdasher you may find velcro in 2 inch wide sold by the metre. Just use very large patches sewn on to the cushion and screwed or glued to the locker covers. The large size makes it stick better and an easier target to connect up. good luck olewill
 
djbreeze said:
.... Wooden "fiddle" attached to the inboard side to stop cushions slipping off?
Click to expand...

I have a wooden fiddle around the front edge of the seats and shelf around the top of the back rests and sides. The shelf is only 1.5" in depth but the fiddle is slightly higher at 2". The cushions stay on as they are a firm fit behind the fiddle and below the shelf. The new cushions have velcro but I have never attached the partner section to the woodwork as there was no need. So in my case the fiddles work well, the key being a firm fit.
 
Pau Amma said:
My cushions in the saloon are fixed to the tops of the lockers using small round discs of velcro. The solution is poor. They ping off and also get "furred" up.

Has anyone worked out a good system for doing this that enables relatively hassle free access to the lockers below at the same time as being secure enough??

Cheers
Matthew
Click to expand...
Yes, there are different grades of velcro, some of it so strong it is a bu**er to get the stuff apart!
You can get plain, or sticky back, or even on a solid strip.Velcro is a trade name, so there are other brands.
 
Glueing velcro

I have been trying to find a solution to this myself. Cushion backs also sit on bases, keep falling about and rather annoying when getting stuff out of under lockers, they need to be fixed semi-permanently.
Have sewn heavy duty widest velco in 4in strips to backs and stuck other bit to bulkheads. Trouble is the bulkhead side of things. Has ripped surface off teak veneer on one side and wont hold on grp side, even after cleaning with spirit.
So...my suggestion is something I intend to do at lay-up. Leave strips on cushions, as they are strongly attached, but glue its partner to a ply strip and screw that to walls. Needs to be the strongest plastic glue on earth?
So what is that then?
Another idea is a type of V slot, similar to my compass attachment.
I would like to sort this petty but irritating problem out so any other ideas?
 
Seashoreman said:
Needs to be the strongest plastic glue on earth?
So what is that then?
Click to expand...

I have long strips of 1" velcro to secure the backrests; Bostik contact adhesive stuck the strips to the wooden backrests very well.

NB follow instructions, leave to go tacky before applying the strips.

Also have plenty of ventilation; it's not for nothing that when 'glue sniffing' first hit the headlines Punch / Private Eye had a front page featuring the 'Bisto Kids' with their noses in the air, " Ahh, Bostik ! " :eek:
 
Pau Amma said:
My cushions in the saloon are fixed to the tops of the lockers using small round discs of velcro. The solution is poor. They ping off and also get "furred" up.

Has anyone worked out a good system for doing this that enables relatively hassle free access to the lockers below at the same time as being secure enough??

Cheers
Matthew
Click to expand...

Remake the cushions with the wooden locker top built in. Use 1/2" ply. Or permantly fix the old cushions to 1/2" ply. Put a fiddle on the base, if the hole allowing you into the locker is small, make it bigger.
In curved seating give though to cushions with parallel edges, with asymmetric ones in the corners only.

Transformational. Lift the cusion, you are in the locker - no lids to fiddle with.

They are heavy enough not to go anywhere with a fiddle. You then only need velcro for the backrests.
 
I used press studs when fitting backrest cushions on a 22 footer a couple of years ago and they worked a treat - easy to remove for laying up, but perfect for keeping everything in place on the go. Needed to invest in a small "anvil" for putting the things together, but I still have it, and it continues to get used. Velcro's great if both surfaces can take it, but I found it dislikes being moved too much, and getting it to stick to interior gelcoat mouldings was a sod.

http://www.comdir.co.uk/Products.aspx/1743/PressStuds/
 
I've been considering a solution for my seat backs, but it all depends on the geometry of the seat. Iwant to sew a beading edge along the top back seam (either a genoa luff tape or a caravan awning tape and screw a suitable track along the top of the seat back so that the cushion slides into place, but can be hinged up. At the moment the dinette seat back cushions make a tidy heap on the sole on port tack!

Rob.
 
Fixing Boat Cushions

Assuming you are talking about the back cushions. If the backs are on top of the bases, gravity should hold them in place provided the weight of the backs is on the base. Saw this idea on a boat we surveyed in Niceville Florida called "Con Brio", memory won't bring the type to mind, but this had matching cloth loops sewn to the top of the backs, hooked over wooden knobs. Sorry the pic is small.
Stearman65
 
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