Homemade cockpit cushions

[Kevin C 26S]

I got a bit of sticker shock looking at custom cockpit cushions, and started wondering if anyone has made their own, and if they would share the information.Questions include -Where to buy the foam.What material did you use for the covers.Any patterns?Thanks!

 

[Dave M26D]

You might

be able to get patterns from SailRite...although patterns are pretty specific to the boat...you can make your own patterns, every mod I do is first done as a prototype so I have a pattern to work with...I am sure there are sites describing that. One thing I've noticed though, is sewing sites always want to make money for the info...unlike sailing sites.

 

[evansfortune14904]

Here are some marine fabric sites

Here are some sites that may interest you. There is a non-absorbing foam on the rochford site. There are so many fabric options you could choose, as well as binding options (4 inch wide velcro for example). http://www.seattlefabrics.comhttp://www.beaconfabric.comhttp://www.rochfordsupply.com

 

[Kevin C 26S]

Thanks...

That should get me started.

 

[Isabelle]

Made mine

1988 Mac 26D we bought had all the interior cushions but only one back for the cockpit. I first went to a foam and fabric place and priced the cut foam and naugahyde type fabric. Would have been around $700+. I then went to the $3 Fabric Store and bought 3 pieces of 3" foam for $29 each... 7 yards of naugahyde type fabric. Went back to the foam and fabric place and bought a length of zipper that I cut into 3 pieces and attached the zipper levers or whatever you call those things. I disassembled the back cushion cover and used it as a pattern and soaked the zipper from it in Oxi-Clean. For the seat pattern I took newspapers on-board and laid them on the seat and made a pattern, using masking tape to tape the lengths of newspapers together. I bought a #18 needle and strong nylon thread. Using my 35 year-old Kenmore sewing machine I sewed new cushions. Each one took about 3-4 hours after the fabric was cut out.Got the snap kit from West Marine and put the snaps on the back cushions to hold them onto the railing. They look and feel great.

 

[Isabelle]

Forgot one thing...

Covered the foam with polyester type foam I bought at JoAnn's Yardage to make it easier to insert foam into covers. Used 3M Super 77 Multipurpoase Adhesive to attach polyester to foam cushion. Also, since the foam cushions I bought were to short for the bottoms I extended them by cutting the additional length and gluing it with the Super 77. Holds together extremely well. I cut the foam with an electric carving knife I got at Ace Hardware for $7.99. I also read where you can use one of those Japanese ginsu knives but it was easy to use the carving knife.

 

[John Dawson]

Redrum also

Don't know if they sell direct, but thats the WM supplier for fabrics.

 

[Kevin C 26S]

Thanks Isabelle...

By the way, I love your name ... it is the same as my daughter's.Kevin

 

[Isabelle]

Ooops...

It was polyester batting (not foam) I glued to the foam cushion. You could do without that step but it is very hard to insert the foam cushion into the cushion cover otherwise. Thanks for mentioning you like my name. I used to hate it when I was younger but now I like it. Did you know it is one of the top 10 favorite names for girls this year? Back in Methusala's time, when I was a girl, no one had the same name as me.

 

[Dave M26D]

I thought it was

the name of your boat...but I like it either way.

 

[jj]

closed cell foam

closed cell foam is the right way for outside cushions..the foam must not absorb water or you will have a mold/mildew problem.many exterior boat cushions use 1/4 or 1/2 inch closed cell foam pieces and sandwich the layers to create the desired thickness.mac's are 3 inches, so you would use 12 - 1/4 or 6 - 1/2.it runs from $7-15 per yard.http://www.foamorder.com/closedcell.html

 

[Isabelle]

jj You are right, but...

since I had the original 1988 Mac 26D outside cushion which did not appear to be closed foam and was not mildewed, I chose to go with the $29 foam.At my age, and given the age of the original cushion, I calculated I'd be "food for the fishies" long before mildew overtook my handiwork. Let the new owners deal with it. They likely won't be living on social security, as am I. ;^)I even salvaged the original zipper which appears like new after a couple of hours soaking in Oxi-Clean.I'm not advocating anyone do as I did... only explaining how I was able to get new cushions at a price I could afford.

 

[Kevin C 26S]

Closed cell vs. Drain dry

The closed cell foam is very pricy, however, I did note the exploded cell foam -http://www.rochfordsupply.com/product_listing.asp_Q_CatID_E_412_A_SubCatID_E__A_ProdID_E_3199Is much more reasonable.

 

[jj]

closed cell

downside of drain-dry is that you need the water/moisture to escape from your seat cover.mac cockpit cushions are enclosed w/out any means for moisture to get out.you would need to create ventilation holes via small grommets or the like.