Cushions, Cabin, Part 2: Sewing

The new V-berth cushions, at the upholstery shop

Sometimes it's worth it pay someone else to do a job, especially when time is precious. So when it came to the sewing of the new cushions, I decided I would save myself a lot of time (for some of the remaining projects in the refitting of Oystercatcher) by having a local marine upholsterer do the sewing. In this posting I describe some of the preparatory work I did that saved me some money and ensured that I would end up with exactly what I was looking for.

I knew I wanted navy colored, interior grade Sunbrella fabric, so I ordered it online from Sailrite in Indiana. I did the calculations, and I estimated that 14 yards of 54 inch fabric would be sufficient for the settee cushions, the berth extension cushion, the V-berth cushions, and the settee backrest cushions (which I have described in a separate posting). I was accurate in my estimation there was very little left over. If I were to do it again, I would order 15 yards, because the upholsterer almost didn't have enough. I should note that I also ordered YKK Continuous Vision #5 zipper chain and YKK zipper pullers and zipper tabs.

As far as the foam was concerned, I searched around and found the best prices in the United States at the Foam Factory in Michigan. I ordered Lux, High Quality, 4 inch foam. Of this, I ordered one full sheet measuring 82x76x4 and one third of a sheet measuring 82x24x4. As far as the backrests were concerned, I ordered a half sheet of HD 36 High Quality foam, 82x36x1. All this foam, of course, was open-cell foam, which is much more comfortable than closed-cell, the kind often used for cushions in the cockpit of a boat. Foam Factory offered free shipping. The foam arrived in super compressed cardboard bundles with a warning that I should open the bundles within ten days to prevent damage to the foam. As I cut the bundles open, the sheets of foam quickly sprung to life. I stowed them in an empty room in my house until I was ready to go to the upholsterer, and then I loaded everything up in my SUV.

The upholsterer cut the new pieces according to my specifications, making them larger than the original pieces of foam, which seemed to have shrunk over the 40 years of their lives.

My estimate for the 4 inch foam (for the settee cushions, berth extension cushion, and V-berth cushions) was accurate. As you see below, there was little waste.

This was all that remained of the Sunbrella fabric.

I couldn't have been more pleased by the work that the upholsterer and his helpers did at this shop.

I saved a lot of money buying my own materials and avoiding the big name shops on the water in Charleston.

This ends this posting on my assembling of the materials and the upholsterer's sewing of the new cushions for Oystercatcher, my Ericson 25.

Settee Lockers, Part 5: Fabrication of the New Backrest Cushions

One of the new backrest cushions

The original backrest cushions in my Ericson 25 were yellow and plaid - "Golden Rod" plaid to be exact, a color and design, I suppose, that were popular in 1975. The only thing I liked about them was that someone had sewn them in the roll-and-tuck style, a style that dated to an even earlier era of the twentieth century, the 1950s to be exact. I wanted to preserve that classic, roll-and-tuck style in the new cushions, and I wanted them to be navy in color, that classic, nautical color that looks especially striking when teamed with mahogany and white on the interior of a sailboat.

This was one of the few projects I tackled on this boat where I paid someone else to do at least some of the work. I knew how to use a sewing machine, but I was not willing to take the time to teach myself the roll-and-tuck technique.

Above and below we see the new settee cushions in navy. I'll discuss these in another posting. I temporarily put these new cushions into place during this project to get a sense of how thick I could make the new boards that would serve as the foundation of the backrest.

The original backrest boards were 1/4 inch thick. I wanted the new ones to be 3/8 inch. These new ones would be hinged and would need to be more sturdy than the permanently mounted originals.

The original boards were partially rotten from the water that used to leak through the portlights when the previous owner had the boat.

I ordered navy Sunbrella fabric from Sailrite in Indiana, and I ordered foam from the Foam Factory in Michigan. The prices at the Foam Factory were much better than they were at any mattress store or furniture upholstery shop in my local area.

I took all these items to a local, word-of-mouth shop that specialized in marine upholstery. It was much more affordable than the big name shops in the Charleston Lowcountry. These guys didn't care that I brought my own materials to them, and they did a fantastic job in a timely manner.

This ends this posting on the work I did - and the work I paid others to do - in my creation of new backrest cushions for Oystercatcher, my Ericson 25.