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Cockpit cushions

10K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  Yofy 
#1 ·
Anyone ever make their own cushions? I just priced out a set for my Catalina 27 and I don't think I'm willing to spend $800+ on a set of 2-3 cushions.

Any suggestions, comments?

Thanks,

Chris
 
#3 ·
Well if things go well and I buy the boat I'm looking at I'll be having to make cockpit AND cabin cushions. I have recovered other things so it should be too hard. If you have any decent sewing expertise it wouldn't be hard at all. One thing I would recommend is that you either use Marine grade vinyl or Sunbrella fabric for exterior cushions. You MIGHT need an industrial machine so that might be show stopper. Also make sure you get accurate measurements.

Good luck!!!
 
#6 ·
I got a price on re-doing the interior on my Catalina 30, and nearly went into cardiac arrest!!!! I calculated the cost of doing it myself & it came out to a savings of 77%, assuming that my time is worthless - which is not far from the truth! Either of our home sewing machines will handle Sunbrella or equiv with a heavy needle. My limited experience says that if you have never done it, keeping a long seam straight is not as easy as it looks. Especially if there is welting or a zipper involved. I'm also thinking about investing $50 in a sheet of 3/4" plywood and formica to use as a layout table. I think it would make layout and foam handling so much easier.
 
#9 ·
People are such naysayers here, it really irks me.
You don't need an industrial machine if you use lighter fabric, you don't have to have zippers either! When was the last time you unzipped a cushion? Also, so what if the seam is not perfect, it's just a peice of foam you put your ass on while sailing.
 
#10 ·
True. although I did mention that lighter fabrics COULD be done with a household machine. As long as you know how to make a pillow you can make a cockpit cushion. You just make it inside out and keep the last seam on the back edge so it's not visible then sew it up when you get it stuffed.
 
#11 · (Edited)
My wife made our cushions with a standard household machine from sunbrella fabric. She said it was hard fitting corners, but definitely doable. You can get good advise on materials from the folks at Sailrite. Sunbrella Fabrics, Sailcloth, Sail Kits, Canvas and Sail Hardware for Do-It-Yourself They are always glad to talk to you about choices and provide advise. They also have online instructional videos on how to make many boat projects including several on cushions.
 
#12 ·
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?)
 
#14 · (Edited)
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.
 
#15 ·
Admiral replaced the bimini last summer (remember summer?).
This winter we've just started on the cockpit cushions.
We're using Phifertex Plus. It's an open weave material that lets water pass through instead of getting soaked. Using reticulated foam on top over closed cell foam with drain holes (as recommended by sailrite).

We have an old sears machine and we've sewn through 7 layers of sunbrella, zippers, etc. The key is OLD, with metal parts instead of plastic.

We put about $350 into the bimini as opposed to paying about $2500, just for the top.
 
#16 ·
I made all my cushions both for the cockpit and the cabin. Cost of materials all sumbrella, foam for marine use shipped to house and a sewing machine cost less than cockpit cushions alone.

Used brown paper to make templates and traced onto cushions and material. I had never sewn anything in m life and they came out really good. You just need a large space and take your time. Practice stitching before you start.
 
#18 ·
I have purchased all the materials and will begin the sewing this weekend. I have an old Kenmore machine (all metal parts). It does well enough, the hardest part is feeding all the material through the small opening on the right of the machine. It will not be as bad with the cushions, it was a real pain with the bimini.

I am no seamstress, but I think they will look OK. Choosing the materials and determining the snap fasteners and to zipper or not to zipper took a long time. Decided on the Phifertex from sailrite.
 
#21 ·
I had a set of 4 custom cockpit cushions, plus 4 throwables made from a company call c-cushions. They also have a competitor named bottomsiders. The core material is closed-cell foam which does not absorb water. The outer coating is vinyl. After 5 years of use, and clawing upon by my overweight 90-lb yellow lab, "Loosie," the cushions are still in very good shape. There is virtually no wear and only 1 or 2 punctures (Loosie) and one :mad: cigarette burn.

The only isssue is that they don't breath. So to deal with that, we just throw a beachtowel down when the humidity requires a little airflow.

I think I spend about $800 for approximately 18sqft of cushion. They also came with a color coordinated pinstripe and boat printed upon them.

Google and I'm sure you'll find 'em. Prices may have gone up like everything else. But it sure was easy and effective.

Good luck.
 
#22 ·
I have spent about 800 bucks so far including the machine and all materials, some stuff from Sailrite like thread. I have 19 cushions and have done 3 so far so you can't beat doing it if your on a budget, who is not? The videos are a little out of order so you have to look at all of them. Bought some books also but learned more from free video. Had a full center cockpit enclosure done last year that cost us 8 grand. At that point I said, gotta learn to sew!
 
#23 ·
For cushions you can get away with a $80 Singer sewing machine if you are not punching through several layers of fabric. I redid all my cushions and while I bought a new Viking as I broke my original Singer - nothing says doing it yourself and it really is not that hard. As a result of the cushion upgrades I have done the wheel cover, cockpit cushions and custom drink holders... go for it... materials will cost you way less and once you get the hang of it - you can make it your own....
 
#24 ·
Shop around for materials.
We buy some stuff from sailrite but found a local supplier for other stuff. Sometimes the shipping skews the savings, sometimes sailrite has very expensive stuff. Sometimes sailrite has the best prices.
Any decent sized city will have awning shops. Some will sell direct or they can direct you to a local supplier. If you are in a good sized boating area their should be a place where all the canvas shops buy their foam & sunbrella, etc. Ours is a hole in the wall that we found by word of mouth. Wholesale to the public.
 
#25 ·
What thickness foam do you guys use for Cockpit Cushions?
Cabin setee cushions?

I'm also thinking about making my own, as I'm pretty handy with just about anything like this, just never have done them myself before.
I bought my wife a Kenmore sewing machine at least seven years ago and she has never taken it out of the box. I'm going to give it a shot to see if I can make some basic covers, nothing fancy.
 
#26 ·
Our cockpit cusions were 2" closed cell foam. We're adding 1.5" reticulated foam to the top of that plus polyester batting top & bottom. The reticulated is pretty soft and we will be making the cushions only 3" thick, compressing the reticulated foam.
Cabin cushions are, I'd guess, 4" of a softer foam. Haven't looked.

Sailrite gives a lot of good info on all this on their website and in their catalog
 
#27 ·
Cushion alternative

Since I work in an operating room, the idea came to me a year ago about using the same padding we use in the OR.

I have 3 closed-cell 2'x4' gel pads about 3/4 in thick that we use for long passages on each of the cockpit seats. They are more comfortable than foam (except probably memory foam) and are completely sealed in a very sturdy but extremely flexible plastic, that also sticks to the boat better than my boat shoes, so you don't slide. Mine are in white, to match the boat. They can be purchased through a medical supply house, and while not as fashionable as well-made cushions, are much more serviceable and comfortable. Roll them up for storage, and hose them off to clean them. I suspect a little research on the internet would find them for a reasonable cost.
 
#29 · (Edited)
My mother made me a new mainsail cover and sewed through 4-5 layers of outdoor canvas from the fabric store. You don't need a $1k machine. Hand sewing is for grandma's making quilts, and for prisoners. It requires lots of free time.

Definitley put either snaps, or velcro on em to keep them in place. I personally hate it when people have cockpit cusions in their boats, I'd much rather prefer a cheap throwable that I can stow almost anywhere. If the cushion gets wet, I can toss it below to dry.

Everyone knows it's cheaper to make it yourself. Cost of a new sail cover was 200-300 bucks, we made one for less than $50.
 
#32 ·
donhaller

I am impressed. You are still married, does she talk to you yet. Generally speaking, women do not appreciate appliances for presents. Make sure you ask permission to borrow her machine, wouldn't want to piss her off again.

My wife made cushions for our last boat, not content with standard clamshell design, she went for the vertical panel with a top and bottom seam and a zipper to close. Was a lot of work, but the finished product was as good or better than anything out there. We had priced them out and 1 cushion was more then the sunbrella for the entire job. Her machine complained a little at the thickness as 4 layers of sunbrella is pretty thick.
The zipper was handy for cleaning up the one time a coffee got spilt on them.
Don't cheap out on the foam, buy the highest grade you can find, cockpit cushions are only going to be 1-2in thick (we went for 2in). If you are going to do all that work, best make sure that they are functional as well as good looking, cheap foam will compress and do little to cushion your but. Also some big sewing centers will often rent out industrial machines for a reasonable fee. We thought about velcro and snaps to hold them in place but didn't like the idea of sitting on the hardware if the cushions were not employed (went sent them below when it got nasty or wet out) ended up stitching some of that non-skid material on the underside, worked out well.
 
#33 ·
We made our own cockpit cushions for our catalina 27 using sunbrella and and closed foam. They came out nice. We used the detailed procedure in the sailboat owners manual by don casey. The sunbrella was the most expensive part which came to around 200$. Total we spend 300 on material and 300 on a sewing machine.
 
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