The following was prepared for the ship’s maintenance/upkeep file but the information contained might be of interest. I was going to wait and post this with photos of the finished cushions, since there is interest now, I’ll add them in a later post.
The cabin interior cushions on our Cape Dory 31 have just been replaced after 22 years. The foam cushions were beginning to compact/degrade and the Herculon fabric of the originals had always been barely tolerable especially in hot weather. We are located on the upper Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake away from the very competitive yacht services and supply market of Annapolis. Installers seem to be unwilling to travel to our location and the local shops lack competition that keeps prices reasonable. We also wanted to use fabric that we selected not sold as a part of the job by a canvas/upholstery shop
We had heard very good things about the capabilities of JSI in St Petersburg, Florida. We called, they were helpful, seemed to have the expertise and were happy to use our choice of upholstery fabric appropriate for the application. They sent us detailed directions for making cushion templates on board using the settee and bunks to draw/size them, not the old cushions. We used a roll of brown craft paper we had on hand to make the templates, shipped them to JSI (JSI will supply the template paper if requested). Jane Vanse of JSI was great, promptly returned calls and knew what she was doing.
The fabric my spouse and I chose was manufactured by RM Coco, 17 yards of “Soothie” pattern “Linden” color polyester microfibre chenille, cleaning code SW - water-based or dry cleaning. There is a durability factor used for upholstery fabric, we chose fabric in the very highest range, check the website below for detail on that. Contrasting color piping fabric took 6 yards with a good deal returned that will be used to make throw pillows. It was all ordered from www.FabricsandHome.com This site provided a considerable discount from local fabric stores.
The choice of 4 inch foam recommended by JSI was harder foam (50 lbs compression) for the settee cushions and bolsters (2 inch, they double as a fillers for the main berth) in the main cabin and composite foam for the forward cabin bunk, harder foam on the bottom, softer foam layer on top with a Dacron wrap on the top for some very nice added quilting. We specified marine grade vinyl for the underside panel although JSI specs them with simple mesh undersides. We felt the wear resistance, dirt, vapor and moisture barrier of the vinyl would be important to have over the long haul.
The new cushions were made from our templates in about 4 weeks. They looked great on arrival, we took them to the boat with some trepidation knowing our measurement job was going to be the key. They fit extremely well. They were very nicely crafted and to our eyes the light/medium green fabric color looks great on board lightening up the cabin in daylight and in the evenings with the cabin lights. There of course is no comparison between the old and new when it comes to the tactile feel of the fabric. Sleeping comfort has improved, the firmness of the foam avoids backache and other pains.
The cost of this upgrade was not insignificant for our budget: $2170 including shipping for the foam and fabrication as described above; $540 for the fabric including piping material.
We look forward to many years of enjoyment of this long overdue interior upgrade.
New Interior Cushions
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