What Fabric Type For The Cushions Below Deck?

Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
We need to get new cushions made for our Yankee Seahorse 24 boat project. We have found a shop nearby that can make new ones based on the sizes and shapes of the old ones that were in the boat when we purchased it, but we need to select the kind of foam and specify a type of fabric.

We assume these cushions could get wet, occasionally.

Thank you for your help.
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
M

markwbird

.
Nov 26, 2012
1,654
C&C 40-2 Berkeley
Sailrite

Go to Sailrite's website. They have many different types of Sunbrella fabric and different types of foam as well as how-to videos and explanations of why one is better than another for a particular application. Good stuff.
 
Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
Sumner said:
Might want to look on this thread from a couple days ago as it was basically the same as what you are asking....

http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=167098

... good luck and do ask questions after reading that if you have them,

Sumner

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]
Click to expand
Thank you, Sumner. That link was most helpful. Step-by-step instructions.
 
Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
markwbird said:
Go to Sailrite's website. They have many different types of Sunbrella fabric and different types of foam as well as how-to videos and explanations of why one is better than another for a particular application. Good stuff.
Click to expand
Thank you, Markwbird. Good information. I had no idea how expensive that fast dry foam is.
 
centerline

centerline

.
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Seahorse24 said:
we need to select the kind of foam and specify a type of fabric.

We assume these cushions could get wet, occasionally.

Thank you for your help.
Click to expand

are we talking interior cushions or exterior cushions?.....

i am assuming you are meaning interior cushions, and if so, any synthetic automobile fabric is an excellent product for the interior. you have many more patterns to choose from, its highly UV and fade resistant, it takes the wet just fine and it dries reasonably quick depending on what type of nap it has....

the only thing sunbrella type fabrics have over the synthetic automobile fabrics is that they are made to shed water better and some types are actually waterproof. but for longevity in the sun, a quality car fabric will be about the same.

for exterior I would recommend the sunberlla type material, only because it has no nap and will dry out quicker than a nappy automobile fabric.

there are several different brands on the market now that are equal to or surpass sunbrellas quality, but sunbrella is the most famous name, and its such a close difference that it dont really matter what brand you use.

For the foam, you will be disappointed with anything but the "restaurant grade" stuff. its almost the perfect density for settee cushions in the 3" thick stuff...
 
Delezynski

Delezynski

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Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
Seahorse,

You might want to take a look at our short (9.5 min) Youtube video, "New Cushions". It's at; http://youtu.be/0Vi-zYayYog

In it I show how we made our own and also talk about foam. It's not a very hard job if you just take it slowly. And you might save as much as 75%. :D

Greg
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Greg: You got it! The best thing these people can buy is a good sewing machine! Carole and I can make all this stuff just like you and Jill! We will see you in a couple months. Happy Veterans Day! Chief
 
Sumner

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Seahorse24 said:
Thank you, Markwbird. Good information. I had no idea how expensive that fast dry foam is.
Click to expand
We spent thousands at Sailrite and really like the company but they don't have good foam pricing.

A sheet of 2 X 48 X 72 is $245.00 and that probably isn't with shipping...

http://www.sailrite.com/Foam-Dry-Fast-Open-Cell-2-x-48-x-72

From the Foam Factory's wholesale site (you can order there) a 2 X 50 X 90 is $85.00 plus probably about $12 shipping and free if the order is over $100.....

http://www.foamdistributing.com/D/dryfast-foam.html

From their other site it is $144 for 2 X 50 X 90 and free shipping so still better than Sailrite....

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/outdoorfoam/outdoorfoam.html

We went with the 3 inch thick for the cockpit cushions but didn't use this for the interior cushions or the V-berth. All that info is available by the links below my name,

Sumner

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]============================

Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links[/FONT]
 
Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
centerline said:
are we talking interior cushions or exterior cushions?.....

i am assuming you are meaning interior cushions, and if so, any synthetic automobile fabric is an excellent product for the interior. you have many more patterns to choose from, its highly UV and fade resistant, it takes the wet just fine and it dries reasonably quick depending on what type of nap it has....

the only thing sunbrella type fabrics have over the synthetic automobile fabrics is that they are made to shed water better and some types are actually waterproof. but for longevity in the sun, a quality car fabric will be about the same.

for exterior I would recommend the sunberlla type material, only because it has no nap and will dry out quicker than a nappy automobile fabric.

there are several different brands on the market now that are equal to or surpass sunbrellas quality, but sunbrella is the most famous name, and its such a close difference that it dont really matter what brand you use.

For the foam, you will be disappointed with anything but the "restaurant grade" stuff. its almost the perfect density for settee cushions in the 3" thick stuff...
Click to expand
Thank you, Centerline. I'll check out the automobile fabric and the restaurant grade foam.
 
Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
Delezynski said:
Seahorse,

You might want to take a look at our short (9.5 min) Youtube video, "New Cushions". It's at; http://youtu.be/0Vi-zYayYog

In it I show how we made our own and also talk about foam. It's not a very hard job if you just take it slowly. And you might save as much as 75%. :D

Greg
Click to expand
Thank you for the link to your video, Delezynski. I don't know if we can make our own, but we might have to try.
 
Seahorse24

Seahorse24

.
Nov 6, 2014
122
Yankee Yankee Seahorse 24 Beaver Lake
Chief RA said:
Greg: You got it! The best thing these people can buy is a good sewing machine! Carole and I can make all this stuff just like you and Jill! We will see you in a couple months. Happy Veterans Day! Chief
Click to expand
:) Chief, we have an old sewing machine. It's looking more and more like we will be trying to make our cushions, if I can get some of that foam at the better prices from those discount stores.

Thanks for your help and support.
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Seahorse: No problem! The only difference between a good sailmaker and a bad one is a crooked stitch! ha Practice makes it straight. Seriously though, use nylon thread, but do not use oversized thread for your sewing machine. If sewing vinyl use baby powder to slick it up. Hows that Greg? Chief
 
centerline

centerline

.
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Chief RA said:
use nylon thread...

If sewing vinyl use baby powder to slick it up.... Chief
Click to expand
baby powder, thats a good trick i never thought of....

I have always used polyester thread, because its almost impervious to uv rays, as are your halyards and other polyester lines on the boat....but maybe there is something about it that im missing so i have to ask, "what are the properties of nylon thread that would make it a better option?".....
 
C

Chief RA

.
Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
centerlne: I do not know which is better, nylon or poly, my concern is go synthetic and do not go oversized on your thread or your machine will have serious problems dealing with it. Chief
 
Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani

.
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
My ex used to repair sails, and make bimini's, sail covers, etc. She used a silicone spray to douse the thread to make it feed better. And always polyester. V69 at least.

Sunbrella, and various upholstery materials, will sew just fine with a home machine. As long as it has metal gears- she stripped the newer plastic gears on two machines before we learned. It's when you get into sails, and 4-5 -6 layers of sail cloth you need the big machines.

Personally, I like the upholstery stuff, like on couches, for my cushions. But then I tend to spend much longer times aboard than weekends. (unfortunately, not lately :( )
 
centerline

centerline

.
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Chief RA said:
centerlne: I do not know which is better, nylon or poly, my concern is go synthetic and do not go oversized on your thread or your machine will have serious problems dealing with it. Chief
Click to expand
the sailmaker told me polyester always, because its strong and uv resistant, so thats what ive always used.
 
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