V-birth cushion replacement

[czzmg8]

In the interest marital harmony I''m ready to admit that the V-birth cushions need replacement. While I could opt for the simple way out and go to a local shop and have new ones made, I''m curious whether anyone has had any experience with(or sources for)air mattress type beds for this application.
Jim (soon to be aboard GodSpeed)

[mikehoyt]

Oneoption is to have the existing foam reupholstered. This is quite a bit less expensive than buying new foam....

Mike

[PaulBl]

4 inches of good closed cell foam will last about as long as the boat will. A good mattress is worth the amount they cost. You can spend the money for inner spring matresses made for marine use (they don''t rust) and they are fine too.

For me good closed cell foam makes a firm matress that will last longer then the fabric covers will.

Some of the new style air beds may sleep just fine but I would not expect them to last very long.

[rbtpfe9]

I recently replaced all interior cushions on 30'' Hunter with firm 4" closed cell which I got online from Foam Factory in Michigan. Got various sunbrella fabric remnants off of ebay and had local uphosterer sew the covers. I think I saved over 60% from getting someone to do the whole job. If you go this route make sure you order cushions 1-1.5 inches larger than actual size due to minor compresion uphosterer will apply to make covers tight.

[splitmind]

For an extra few bucks, we went from 3" to 6" foam that was designed for sleeping, and was pre-drilled with pin holes throughout to assist breath-ability. I think it was called "Swedish Sleeping foam". The bottom of the covers are a breath-able synthetic material which is tough. Under the bunks we purchased multy-tile from home depot which is a interloc tile that gives an extra .25" airgap. This should prevent mould from ever being an issue in our new cushions.

Good sleep is worth the expense. My suggestion is go to a shop that will pull out the foam for you, and let you lie down on it. In Toronto we used Genco and are happy with their work. After lying on 3", 4", and 6" foam, we decided to spend the extra. It is really worth it.

[JoeTrecker]

Anyone have any guess''s as to cost to reapholster (Vbirth, settee, quarterberth) for a 29''er?

Thanks, Joe

[Sasha_V]

We recently redid all of our cushions and upholstery.
We decided to go with a 3inch closed cell foam laminated to a 1 inch soft density closed cell. All of it breathable (thousands of small holes). We did the cutting ouselves with a jigsaw running a very deep woodcutting blade and tghen finished the edges with a hot iron (not one you want toi use again for clothes) and sewing of covers that velcro down to the benchtops and can be interchanged fairly easily. We spent a total of about $200 Australian for materials and about 20 hours of work. But I really like the results and all inset cushions for storage spaces and stuff fit perfectly.

In sopecific answer to the issue of airmatresses....remember that the boat moves ALL THE TIME...so there is going to be some degree of wear against the bulkheads all the time. And the airmattress will wear through fairly quickly.
Aslo they are not great for breathability or for tempreture insulation. Sleep is rare enough on a boat that I want my sleep to be GOOD.

Sasha

P.S The other advantage of closed cell is that it is a last resort flotation device.

[PaulBl]

We re did 20 cushiosn to re cpver a 33 ft boat with all interior and cockpit cushions. We reused all the closed cell foam.

When looking for fabric make sure it is for marine use and watch for Olefin as a fibre material as it is will usually do the best. Anythinhg 100% Olefin and you have something that won''t hold water or easily stain. Marine fabrics are also treated to resist mold. For cheap just go 100% Olefin.

Not all Sunbrella fabric is for marine use some is for patio furniture so be sure it''s marine. Sunbrella makes some really nice loking stuff that looks like a woven pattern. very very classy and not hideously expensive.

Expect to pay about $35 a yard on up. Large repeats in the pattern make for a lot of waste unliess you want a goofy looking cushion<g>. Stripes and such are similar in that they go in one direction and make for more waste.

Personally, on seat cushions 2 in closed cell is to die for! It''s not cheap however.

For us all 20 cushions (matress was one onf them) covered with a premium fabric by a first calss tailor was $5,600 - foam not included. That included a contasting piping around all the edeges with new covered zippers. That also includes 100% around the cockpit and some large settee''s and some assorted smaller cushions. Some throw pillows were also part of the deal too.

Before you run out and jump on a chape job try to look at some expensive jobs tpo see what a really good job looks like. Done with top materials you can get a LOT of years out of a covered cushion.

My old onbes were a good job done in navy with the white ticking and lasted since 1989. The PO had a dog and cat that scratched through two cushions and the rest were just well and evenly worn. the closed cell foam showed NO sign of wear.

[gnrice]

Cost was about $600 for the whole thing - both foam and fabric. That''s because I got a great deal on an acrylic for about $10/yard and did all the cutting and stitching myself.

We replaced the foam because the old stuff was deteriorating from all the mildew. Used four-inch high density stuff. If I were to do it again, I''d go with three inch firm laminated to one inch softer stuff (which a previous poster already mentioned). That way it won''t take you four years to break the darned things in!

[hamiam]

You might want to give the custom shop at Defender a call; they replaced my v-berth cushions on another boat for around $300-$400. www.defender.com