Material for Cushions (below decks)

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swanson37

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Probably a stupid question (sign on my desk reads "there are no such things as stupid questions, but there are an awful lot of inquisitive idiots")

I am going to get some new cushions throuhout the interior of the boat (v-berth, saloon, pilot berths etc).

Should I be trying for something water resistant (sweaty and horrible I would imagine) or am I ok going for a good quality fire retardant sofa type covering material, what have others done?

Also, has anyone made up their own covers for outside use and what material did you use?

Has anyone any recommendations on the type of foam to use as well?


Cheers
Simon
 
Hi Simon I would advise a material thats easy to clean if on a boat a nylon would be best but a natural product such as cotton (not linin) and wool would be good but will suffer from rot and mould not including carpet beetle, silver fish if not correctly treated, dont worry about comfort go for the one you like the feel of and look at then geting it treated with a fluro - carbon sealer this is a water based teflon coating which is applied after upholstered avoid the can waterproofing etc as this is solvent based and will give that sweaty shiny effect which is not rquired, natural products will accept the sealer better and will need to be reaplyed less, avoid and cellouse materials like rayon or sisal as this will wick and scortch and realy doesnt like water

for any more info feel free to contact me
all the best James
jay@pileprofile.co.uk jay@pileprofile.co.uk
 
I would use a polyester-based upholstery fabric. This will 'rust' less than organic [ie cotton] based fabrics. I have upholstered two boats myself, and it's no big deal. Look in the Yellow Pages under 'Upholstery Supplies' for fabric suppliers. If you need to replace the cushion foam, you'll need medium density where you sit and low density where you sleep. Most upholstery fabrics are manageable with a domestic sewing machine. For exterior canvas, you definitely need acrylic. I have sewn this on my machine, but an industrial tarpaulin manufacturer will be able to use a heavier thread, which will give a more durable job. They can do a better job on eyelets too.
Peter.
 
sorry just a quick note flame retardency is usualy not applied to the fabric to be effective and is a membrane sheet between the face fabric and sponge filler, avoid stuffing with things like spanish moss this is also moisture sensitive a pollyproperlene filler would be ideal as for ouside a glazzed cotton would be suitable as it's 15 % stronger when wet and already treated with a high volume of starch which can then be water proofed easely but this is shinny and sweaty im affraid
 
We have white PVC seat covers in our saloon - looks good & easy to keep clean, doesnt have moud/mildew problems but, you are right, its a bit sticky to sit/sleep on; but we havnt changed it as we have mucky kids and race a bit so fine for damp sails/kit etc.
In the cabins we have off-white linen covers; again look good and comfortable etc but a b**ger with mould which is vv difficult to remove.
The colour choice came with the boat & is the original design & looks good so reluctant to change it....
I suspect that if you look closely coloured fabric on a boat probably has as much mildew as ours but you just cant see it......
 
We remade our covers...

We used upholstery material and covered one side and the edges of the cushions with that, and then used vinyl for the bases... the theory being that if it is wet we turn the cushions over to get a waterproof covering, and in the mean time, the vinyl stops the bases from being worn against the wooden berth tops....
 
On my last boat I had the covers replaced with acrylic canvas. Reasonably waterproof, hard wearing, comfy, washable and looked good. It is the same stuff as used for spray hoods, sailcoats etc. Don't have white as it will look grubby very quickly.

A word of warning. Don't fit those crummy zips that corrode in about 10 minutes, use velco instead.

Current boat has corduroy! Will be changed this winter.
 
I made my own cushions.

You can get a range of materials from the likes of Toomer and Hayter or Hawke House together with suitable zips thread and buttons. I reuphostered with a polypropylene fabric from T&H. I suggest you use a firm foam for bunk cushions but not too firm.
Only once have I sailed on a boat with plastic covered cushions. I definitely prefer the fabric covers but as others say you must use a synthetic material such as polyprop. However if you have mucky crew members then the plastic may be a wiser choice.

If you do make your own the foam must be slightly over size in order for the covers to be a good tight fit. As a rule of thumb if you can get the foam into the covers without a fight then they are going to be too loose!

You also need a decent sewing machine but it is difficult to sew the plastic stuff on a domestic machine I believe.

Edit
Sorry I did not notice that you're in Oz. The references to T&H and HH are not very helpful to you.
 
Use a fabric. Get one that is 100% man made and you won\'t get mildew

If we have nice pale coloured fabric settee and bunk cushions and backs on a pre-War wooden gaff cutter, with two small boys aboard all summer, anyone else can.

The waterproof stuff is just nasty to sit on.

(Mind you, we also dust our white painted bilges. Honest. Not all wooden boats are "leaky old tubs" as some on here put it.)

The pale colour was chosen to keep the cabin light, as we have a lot of varnished teak. It is quite practical, but we do take the covers home and wash them each Spring. They are six years old now.

The advice about choosing a 100% man made fabric comes from Mike Bamford at Woolverstone, who made them.

Do get them "piped" - it makes all the difference to the appearance. The backs are best secured with Velcro sewn onto the covers and "Evo-stuck" to the woodwork.
 
The density of the foam is important, the light stuff soon loses resilience. Our covers are the original Dralon, SWMBO just chucks in the washing machine and it still looks good after 17 years.
 
The stuff used to reupholster seating in Pubs would be the thing!
Just think what it has to go tru on an adverage sat.night and still be in presentable
condition for opening time on sunday. (must be hosed down with NAPALM)
If you find a supply-- let me know.
 
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