Cushion fabric???

[Brucker]

What fabrics are best to recover interior and exterior cushions on a sailboat? I have a new to me boat that needs a lot of love, and considering that I found a very long since dead squirrel on the berth cushions I am going to recover them...lol. Are there any specific options I should look at? Are there any Hobby Lobby type fabrics that are in a good price range?

 

[Karyon]

The best place would be a fabric store, like up here we have Fabricland or Fanny's fabric, those lady's will point you in the right direction by what to use.
A big fabric store can be pretty overwhelming with all the choice, styles etc. they have.
Congrats on your new boat BTW.

 

[Sumner]

Sailrite has very good options for both at competitive pricing.

For cockpit cushions we went with ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-31-a.html

.... a dryfast foam from ....

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/

If you want to cut it yourself, which is easy with an electric carving knife they have even better pricing here (same people as the foam factory) ...

http://www.foamdistributing.com/

.... and used a very breathable fabric...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-31-c.html

... from sailrite ........

http://www.sailrite.com/Phifertex-Plus-Mesh-Dupioni-Poolside-L37-54

...... and really like how fast it drys after rain or after morning dew,

More on what we did here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-index.html

Sumner
=====================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[thinwater]

Sailrite has very good options for both at competitive pricing.

For cockpit cushions we went with ....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-31-a.html

Did you add any sort of stiffener inside the cushion backs, such as 1/4" plywood? I've done this when seatbacks were low to good effect.

 

[Brucker]

Sumner, thats a pretty neat page yall have with alot of good info!

 

[Sumner]

Did you add any sort of stiffener inside the cushion backs, such as 1/4" plywood? I've done this when seatbacks were low to good effect.

We didn't and for our situation I don't feel that it is needed but I guess I can see some situations where it might be. The plywood would slow down the drying of the cushions. I really like how fast you can use the cushions after they are wet with the dry fast foam and the fabric we used. I worried that it might not be comfortable on bare skin but for us that wasn't the case. We also made all new cockpit cushions for the Endeavour in the same manner.

Also thanks, Brucker and hope it helps some,

Sumner
===========================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[agprice22]

I think it depends on how you plan to use the cushions. For interior cushions, if you do not plan to stand them up when you leave, maybe vinyl backs are a good idea. We stand ours up inside the boat, so they do not get condensation in them. We take our cockpit cushions inside every night. Also, use some solar fans or other ventilation to keep the cabin dry. We use solar fans, and our cabin stays pretty dry.
Any material you like is fine, but I would use something pretty durable overall.

 

[Gene Neill]

Jo-Ann fabrics is where we go around here. They have a good selection of outdoor fabric.

 

[hewebb]

We used Sunbrella fabric when we did ours. I also added some camping foam pad material to the sleeping areas. Cockpit cushions are sealed foam ordered custom fit for the boat.

 

[seadaddler]

Having mine done as we speak with Sunbrella
Nick

 

[centerline]

I would use a sunbrella type material for the exterior, but an automotive type for the interior.
what type of nap to use for the interior depends on if its a dry boat or a wet/damp boat.. dont use a nappy type, like velour, on a damp boat, but it will be comfortable for cushions on a dry boat that will remain dry...
the only reason I use the automotive material is that it is UV and fade resistant, mildew/mold resistant and usually much cheaper than the sunbrella material, and comes in more colors and patterns to choose from for the project.

 

[jleblanc31]

I found some lawn chair cushions and they had subrella material on them so I just washed and installed.

 

[MattObjects]

Our cockpit cushions are closed-cell foam covered in Sailrite's mesh poolside fabric. This means the cushions can be tossed into the water to use as floats but dry instantly when pulled out of the water or after rainfall. Whenever we raft up with friends we toss one of our cockpit cushions over to use it as a floating buffet for folks lounging in the water, which works very nicely. The interior cushions are softer open-celled foam covered with sunbrella fabric.

 

[ITMaster]

All exterior canvas is Sunbrella here for 14 years. Sailrite has the best price for it. Cockpit is closed cell vinyl from the factory, interior is a velour like material, original from the factory.

 

[SailormanDan]

For Sailrite & Sunbrella both. The guys at Sailrite do a great job at answering questions and there are tons of videos on the site to show you how to do it and give you ideas. Interior cushions are on my indoor winter project list.