Typhoon cushion materials

[bamabratsche]

Does anyone happen to know what type of foam was originally used for the Typhoon's interior v-berth cushions?

I have an old and moldy vinyl cover for half the v-berth that came with the boat, but without the foam. Poking around on the Sailrite site and reading through Don Casey's book, the consensus seems to be that open-cell polyurethane foam is preferred, since closed-cell is too firm for sleeping. Sailrite implies that 4-inch-thick open-cell is recommended so that the cushion won't "bottom out", but the old moldy cover can't be more than 1.5 or 2 inches thick--i.e. the same thickness as the closed-cell foam in the cockpit cushions. Another factor is that the v-berth area in the Typhoon is already so small, it seems like a 4-inch thick cushion would take up a large percentage of that already limited space. Also, Sailrite's "Dry-Fast" open-cell foam is exponentially more expensive than their closed-cell foam (like $400 vs. about $160 for my initial guesstimate of how much I'd need).

So I'm wondering if 2-inch or 3-inch open-cell is too thin for sleeping on, if closed-cell would really be that bad, and what others have done.

For the new covers, I was just planning on using Sunbrella furniture fabric, since vinyl seems like it would be pretty unpleasant to sleep on, and I am not sure that our home sewing machine would be able to get through material that thick.

[Russell]

I have made cushions before so I can give you some insight.

You do indeed want 4" foam at least. You wont find 2" foam that wont bottom out with a persons weight on it and still be comfortable at all. The foam sailrite sells is nice and I recommend it, but there are other sources for foam as well that will be a tad cheaper (check upholstery stores, craft stores and fabric stores locally in your area).

If you want to get away with 3", you can use 2" of less firm foam and glue a 1" bottom of very firm below it. I have done this when reusing old cusion foam for new upholstery, to save money.

A home sewing machine should not have too much issue with sunbrella upholstery fabric. None of your cushions should have exceedingly thick assemblies like you would see in a sail or a dodger (this is where you really need a heavy duty machine). Though you shouldnt feel a need to limit yourself to sunbrella for your interior, but its really not much more expensive (and sometimes less expensive) then nice upholstery fabric you will find at your local fabric shop. You might considering getting a home machine specifically marketed for use with denim if you are concerned with your current machines ability, they are more robust while still being very affordable, I know a lot of cruisers who carry this as an inexpensive way to do their own repairs and canvas. Buy a yard of fabric and test your machine out and see. You absolutely do not need a sailrite though for cushions.

[steveg]

Try foamforyou.com. They have many types of foam. The dry fast foam, I think that is what it is called, is about the same as the sailrite. It is cheaper than what sailrite offers. I used it on some berth cushions and it worked great. It was under the outdoor foam tab.

[bamabratsche]

Thanks guys. Sounds like it would be worth while to shop around for the foam. There are so many different kinds it is good to get a better idea of what is really needed, especially since that will likely be the major expense for the project.

I'm not too worried about the home machine getting through Sunbrella or similar fabric, but I'm not so sure it would do too well going through vinyl, so that was my concern there. I tried it last night going through over 6 layers of denim and it did just fine.

[sharkbait]

Check you local area for a foam supply house. Foam is shipped to them in giant blocks. When you order they take the block and shear off whatever you have requested. They are experts and can acquire whatever you want in different densities. They usually have numerous samples to help with your decision. Closed cell foam does not readily absorb water but open cell foam does.

Hint: Foam cuts really easy with a double bladed electric kitchen knife.

[ariasis]

I picked up some 4 inch foam at a place that builds rv's don't remember the price but I know it was a lot less than your quote.

[bamabratsche]

So, after spending some more time on the boat last weekend and doing some unscientific crawling around in the v-berth, I'm no longer sure that having 4-inch-high cushions is going to leave much room for much of anything else down there. Plus, gear often gets stowed on the v-berth, and sometimes that gear is wet, so I am wondering if I am just setting myself up to lose half the v-berth space to a mildew farm.

Has anyone else actually put 4-inch cushions on a Typhoon? If so, how did it work out, and do you have any pictures?

Another possibility would be making a plywood cover (to match the locker lids) for the entire space between the two sides of the v-berth, and just using an inflatable camping pad. This would definitely be the cost-effective option, although there would not be much room for a full-width sleeping pad up in the bow area. As usual, it's a series of trade-offs....