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Cockpit cushions

10K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  Yofy 
When I calculated the cost of getting canvas product for my boat it came to somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand dollars (cabin cushions, sail cover, bimini, dodger, sheet bags, series drogue etc, etc, etc.

Being cheap, I looked for alternatives and found Sailrite. I have no experience sewing (with machines that is - I've mended lots of sails with palms and hand needles while underway). I bought one of their sewing machines and got their instructional videos and I'm spending the cold off season making lots of stuff for a whole lot less. Made a spare room into a sail loft, put in my Ipod with good speakers and I'm having a ball. Of course, since I'm retired I do have more spare time than I had, but if you don't want to spring for what it cost to have someone make things for you and you are handy at making things, give it a try.

I really do love Sailrite for their good instructional materials and I recommend them highly (and I have no connection with them other than as a happy customer). I'll post pictures of some of my projects as soon as I finish them and figure out how to post pictures. Can someone point me to instructions?)
 
When I calculated the cost of getting the canvas products I wanted for my boat and it came to 8 to 10 thousand dollars I had a near coronary. Being the kind of person who likes doing it on my own I bought a sewing machine and got to work. Put a sail loft in an unused room and bought a heavy duty machine from Sailrite and I strongly recommend them (I got their name from someone on this site, by the way). They have terrific video instructions to help the sewing machine challenged like me. Now I'm making cushions, sailcovers, bimini, dodger, drogue etc. I'll post some pictures as soon as I finish some projects and figure out how to post pictures on this site. Incidentally, I have no commercial or other relation with Sailrite other than as a customer.
 
I bought a Pfaff 130 on ebay cheap, great machine. Then looked around net and found this site. If you follow these instructions to the T as it were you can recover all your cushions with no problem. It's not that hard and you can save a lot of money..... just don't tell your buds your are taking up sewing!! Creating a Couch Slipcover | Expert Village Videos
Thanks Winterbuoy, those videos were helpful.
 
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