My 1973 Catalina 27, used on the ocean in Southern California, needs reuphostering. 1. One uphosterer recommended a canvas material made by Sunbrella that is fade and mildew resistant. A second uphosterer suggested wool as it is more comfortable, more durable, and is mildew resistant. Someone else said wool smells when it is wet, and insects will eat it. 2. The old cushions are covered in vinyl on the bottom. The bottom sides are always wet unless I lift the cushions up to allow them to air when I leave the boat. What do you suggest for cushion bottoms to alleviate this problem? I would appreciate some good recommendations from experience before I select the material.
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cushions
outside.... use sunbrella with vinyl bottoms or all vinyl. Interior.... sunbrella is not required unless they will be in the sun a lot. That leaves you with lots of colors, patterns, textures and quality to choose from. Knock yourself out, get what pleases you. Call catalina and ask what they recommend. You'll notice on the newer boats that the interior cushions look like fine sofas. They are probably some kind of wool blend that's treated.
outside.... use sunbrella with vinyl bottoms or all vinyl. Interior.... sunbrella is not required unless they will be in the sun a lot. That leaves you with lots of colors, patterns, textures and quality to choose from. Knock yourself out, get what pleases you. Call catalina and ask what they recommend. You'll notice on the newer boats that the interior cushions look like fine sofas. They are probably some kind of wool blend that's treated.
Check with US Yacht Cushions.
Gary: Check with US Yacht Cushions. They do great work and stand behind their products. Vinyl on the undersides only makes sense in a moist environment. You also want to be sure that the company that make them know about the marine environement. No metal zippers (non-functional within a few months). The Sunbrella fabrics are very nice (not canvas). Some of these fabrics are suitable for outdoor use but look like indoor furniture materials. You may want to talk to Bob & Marcie at US Yacht cushions in Fl. They may have the patterns for your boat. I had them make an interior for our H'31 and it turn out very nice. PS: I do not think that wool would be a good choice for fabric either. While it wears like iron, moths & other critters may have a feast eating up your hard earned dollars.
Gary: Check with US Yacht Cushions. They do great work and stand behind their products. Vinyl on the undersides only makes sense in a moist environment. You also want to be sure that the company that make them know about the marine environement. No metal zippers (non-functional within a few months). The Sunbrella fabrics are very nice (not canvas). Some of these fabrics are suitable for outdoor use but look like indoor furniture materials. You may want to talk to Bob & Marcie at US Yacht cushions in Fl. They may have the patterns for your boat. I had them make an interior for our H'31 and it turn out very nice. PS: I do not think that wool would be a good choice for fabric either. While it wears like iron, moths & other critters may have a feast eating up your hard earned dollars.
Catalina's recommendation for cushion covers
I checked with Catalina Yachts for their recommendation on cabin cushion uphostery material. They recommended the canvas material made by Sunbrella. Do not use wool. They said they are still using nonbreathable vinyl cushion bottoms and that all cushions should be lifted up and storage area covers opened up when off the boat. What experience have people had with breathable cabin cushion bottoms?
I checked with Catalina Yachts for their recommendation on cabin cushion uphostery material. They recommended the canvas material made by Sunbrella. Do not use wool. They said they are still using nonbreathable vinyl cushion bottoms and that all cushions should be lifted up and storage area covers opened up when off the boat. What experience have people had with breathable cabin cushion bottoms?
cushy
Gary, take your old cushions to a cushion guy and ask them to duplicate them in vinyl and Herculon. I'm having cockpit cushion made right now by a great guy who really knew his biz near my home.
Gary, take your old cushions to a cushion guy and ask them to duplicate them in vinyl and Herculon. I'm having cockpit cushion made right now by a great guy who really knew his biz near my home.
Sunbrella is terrific
Just finished getting new cushions (and all new extra firm foam) for our O'Day 302 about this time last year. Sunbrella makes some very good interior fabrics that are still soft while being durable. Some very nice patterns are available. BTW, I talked with the cushion maker about a month ago and she said the price of foam has about doubled -- it's made from oil. Take a look at the Sunbrella fabrics.
Just finished getting new cushions (and all new extra firm foam) for our O'Day 302 about this time last year. Sunbrella makes some very good interior fabrics that are still soft while being durable. Some very nice patterns are available. BTW, I talked with the cushion maker about a month ago and she said the price of foam has about doubled -- it's made from oil. Take a look at the Sunbrella fabrics.
Indoor Sunbrella
Steve, Indoor Sunbrella is frequently mentioned as a good choice. It is easily available. My next question is indoor cushion bottoms. Catalina recommends unbreathable vinyl (like my original 30 year old cushions). Some of the new cushions I've seen have a beathable fabric or a marine grade screen material. Do you have a good recommendation on this? -Gary
Steve, Indoor Sunbrella is frequently mentioned as a good choice. It is easily available. My next question is indoor cushion bottoms. Catalina recommends unbreathable vinyl (like my original 30 year old cushions). Some of the new cushions I've seen have a beathable fabric or a marine grade screen material. Do you have a good recommendation on this? -Gary
Bottom Fabric
Gary: My upholsterer recommended we NOT go with an unbreathable fabric. She put a fine meshed fabric -- not a screen type plastic -- but a woven fabric that is breathable. Think her theory is that if you spill something on the cushions, you want it to be able to breathe from both sides. In addition, we get lots of humidity here in Kansas and getting moisture trapped in the cushion is not a good thing. One thing I'd recommend -- extra firm foam. Apparently the foam disintegrates through time and she strongly recommended we replace the foam. (her rule of thumb was anything older than 12-15 years needed to be replaced) We had the choice of several firmness levels and we chose the most firm. I'm really glad I did. I like a firm mattress and I sleep great on these cushions. And, my thinking was that the firmer foam would stay in better shape longer. Good luck. This is a major purchase from a financial perspective. But new cushions really change the interior of a boat. In our case, it was money well spent.
Gary: My upholsterer recommended we NOT go with an unbreathable fabric. She put a fine meshed fabric -- not a screen type plastic -- but a woven fabric that is breathable. Think her theory is that if you spill something on the cushions, you want it to be able to breathe from both sides. In addition, we get lots of humidity here in Kansas and getting moisture trapped in the cushion is not a good thing. One thing I'd recommend -- extra firm foam. Apparently the foam disintegrates through time and she strongly recommended we replace the foam. (her rule of thumb was anything older than 12-15 years needed to be replaced) We had the choice of several firmness levels and we chose the most firm. I'm really glad I did. I like a firm mattress and I sleep great on these cushions. And, my thinking was that the firmer foam would stay in better shape longer. Good luck. This is a major purchase from a financial perspective. But new cushions really change the interior of a boat. In our case, it was money well spent.
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