# Foam for interior cushions??



## Adele-H (Nov 18, 2012)

What is the best foam to use for berth cushions?

What is the best way to cut / shape the foam?

Where to get it?


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## brokesailor (Jan 12, 2008)

Best way to cut: use an electric carving knife. Boogy woogy.


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## inprin (May 5, 2011)

I just did mine yesterday. Actually the Admiral and I did until I was banished to the boat for offering too many helpful suggestions. I purchased the foam locally in 4x36x72 slabs. I purchased another piece 4x34x24 to add a foot to either piece to get a full 78" piece. I cut with a fully extended utility knife so blade shows about 3". Glued together pieces with 3M super 77. Admiral did the sewing in. No zippers to rust out. Don't know the density of the foam but it was only $70 worth so I became less worried about density. That was a bargain! I can say that what feels really soft out in the open, will harden up once encapsulated by the fabric cover.


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## CatMan22 (Apr 16, 2012)

Actually did this very project last spring, after extensive search both online and at various retail establishments I ended up buying 4 inch foam at the local JoAnn Fabrics. I made templates from cardboard for patterns to trace design on and used razor knife. Lady who lives three houses from me does upholstery work added bunting and did sewing after I bought material and laid out how I wanted pattern to run. 

I had looked online at Catalina Direct for cushions and thought $1500.00 no way. Well, $500.00 for foam, $200.00 for material and $500.00 for sewing later I had my cushions. I had her install velcro to eliminate rust and the dreaded snagged or busted zipper when she sewed them for me. 

Would I do it again the same way if I had to do it all over again, you bet I would. The day I got them back I put them in my boat at it was exactly what I had envisioned, the cushions fit perfect, the patterns lined up exact and everyone that saw them loved it.

Here's a look at them.


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## Jgbrown (Mar 26, 2012)

I used a local foam place that sells good quality foam cheap. I did get zippers and poly-cotton covers. Cost about 1400$ including a big roll of closed celled foam(Volara) for insulating the entire hull. I got 2 V berth cushions(he figured out how to cut them both from a queen with no waste except the bevel on the edge for the hull)
two settee cushions(cut out of a single, with a 2" piece from another project added on the bottom) and 4 tapered backrest cushions. Settee cushions are firmer than the V-berth. 
I discovered by accident that turning a V-berth cushion upside down gives a much more user friendly space, the taper sloping down to the hull creates an easier edge for tucking in sheets, anything dropped on the bed will naturally collect there to be picked up, and the bottom edge pressing firmly on the hull keeps the middle seam together. 

While the covers won't look as fancy or last as long, they are hard to beat for 25$ each including materials and sewing.(50$ if they need shape added like V-berth cushions).
Sadly he won't use other materials, but apparently it's an insurance thing, as a foam seller who is only working with new materials from the shop, vs an upholsterer, his insurance alone is 1/10th as much per year, and his primary market is beds.

I priced out many places, including an upholsterer we have wholesale pricing with for OPBs who offered me a bit more of a break over his usual price, and still the foam place came in substantially cheaper. The upholsterer wanted the same price as I paid for everything, just for the foam.

Whatever you go with, I strongly recommend adding hypervent underneath, and insulating the tops of any lockers, or at least encapsulating the foam in plastic(I like the painters mask material) inside the covers. 

Lifting brand new cushions after a month to find mold all over is no fun!


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## deltaten (Oct 10, 2012)

When I close up and sell off the house this Spring, I won't get squat for my master bdr mattress.. SO I'm gonna re-purpose the 4" memory foam top and make covers for the settee berths or perhaps the entire Vee in one go...no seams ta slide into 
Just gotta figger out where/how to stow 'em !


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Adele-H said:


> What is the best foam to use for berth cushions?
> 
> What is the best way to cut / shape the foam?
> 
> Where to get it?


Best foam is closed cell. In other words, it does not work like a sponge. Even if not outdoors, moisture and dampness won't absorb as much. Some cut this corner down below. Don't. The next question is what density to buy and I'm not a pro there. Too soft or too hard is uncomfortable. Get some advice there.

Electric carving knife work great. They also make hot wire knives, if you want to spring for one.

Fabric stores all sell it or can get it, or google up the stuff online.

Good luck.


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## timtim (Dec 16, 2012)

have you found fabric


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## timtim (Dec 16, 2012)

have you found foam


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## timtim (Dec 16, 2012)

w.foamdistributing.com/ for foam

w.loomcraft.com/ for fabric


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

Bought a king size mattress from the Foam Factory, cut it up with an electric carving knife.


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## Sumner10 (Dec 10, 2008)

MarkSF said:


> Bought a king size mattress from the Foam Factory, cut it up with an electric carving knife.


The same we have gotten all our foam from them. First at their site....

Foam by Mail, foam products, cushions, mattresses, pillows, seats, sound proofing, memory foams, mattress, pillow,

...where they will cut to size, but now we get it from the wholesale site....

Welcome to Foam Distributing

...where it comes in larger pieces but is so much cheaper for the same foam. Like the others said a cheap electric carving knife cuts it easily.

For the interior we have use the Lux High Quality in 3 inches for the v-berth and for the cabin seats. It is their most firm foam except for....










.... the dry-fast which we used in 3 inch thicknesses for the cockpit...

Macgregor 26S Outside Mods page 32-a

We used the Lux High Quality in both boats.....










.. and actually now use it for our bed at home also. It might be too firm for some. They have a good tech section that explains the differences....

Polyurethane Foam Sheets | Packaging | Comfort Foam | Soft Cushion

Their prices are better than anyone we have found and if you get over $75 to $100 the freight is free and no sales tax either.

You can find all our canvas projects here...

Ruth Canvas Mods Index

..including the cushions for the interior, v-berth and cockpit,

Sum

Our 37 Endeavour --- Our 26 MacGregor --- Trips With Both


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

If you're doing a big project, rather than freehanding with an electric knife,and if you're doing this project indoors on the hard, it's not a bad idea to spend $30 on the material to build a 4x8 layout table.in one corner you can build in a well for your sewing machine,and it gives you an 8' long straight edge to act as a cutting fence for your electric knife, giving you straighter cuts. The hour or so it takes to build this simple table will save you two or three hours of work and frustration manhandling material.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Agree with BLJones here. We have a regular table with swing up leaves we bought at a yard sail for our Sailrite LZ1. It rolls away for storage but give a large surfact to work on.
We also built a straight edge with used lunber to add to a similar table so we could have about a 7 foot straight long line table with a straight edge leading into the machine.

These two tables support the weight of the fabric when feeding the machine ( like sailcloth, canvas, or upholstery. This makes sewing projects procede eisly through the needle area without being tugges sideways or crinlkled. It also alllowed us to quickly cut pieces of foam acurately as it has a straight border.


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## Sumner10 (Dec 10, 2008)

bljones said:


> If you're doing a big project, rather than freehanding with an electric knife,and if you're doing this project indoors on the hard, it's not a bad idea to spend $30 on the material to build a 4x8 layout table.in one corner you can build in a well for your sewing machine,and it gives you an 8' long straight edge to act as a cutting fence for your electric knife, giving you straighter cuts. The hour or so it takes to build this simple table will save you two or three hours of work and frustration manhandling material.


I couldn't agree more. The larger the ....










...area you have to work with and having the tables is a huge help in making larger projects.

We have the machine set into a roll-around table that has a "L" shaped extension ....










...around it that just pins on and off. The larger 4 X 8 worktable breaks down.....










...The top lifts off and the sides all fold in for a pretty compact package that can sit against a wall. There is more on all of the above here....

Ruth Canvas Mods page 8

Sum

Our 37 Endeavour --- Our 26 MacGregor --- Trips With Both


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

A demonstration by the Amish Powerlifting Squad? )


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

After trying many types of foam, which caused me serious back pain, I switched to several layers of carpet, and the pain disappeared; for many years now. Others had the same experience. Roll ends are cheap.


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

Brent Swain said:


> After trying many types of foam, which caused me serious back pain, I switched to several layers of carpet, and the pain disappeared; for many years now. Others had the same experience. Roll ends are cheap.


What kind of carpet, how may layers.
How would you describe it.
Sounds like ultra, super, firm

Does it tend to absorb moisture?


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

Hard or soft foam, closed or open cell, wholesale or retail, an important issue is that hypervent one Jgbrown raised. In tropical latitudes mold is always a problem. The space between a mattress and the surface underneath needs air circulation, and the sort that naturally occurs when weights roll about is effective.

T'would be nice if the surfaces under cushions were ventilated by design. Does anyone make 'waterproof' 3/4" peg-board? Suppose you could go over an existing surface and drill 1" holes every 4" but what a project. But then you could repaint those surfaces with an anti fungal agent added.


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## Adele-H (Nov 18, 2012)

Thank you for all the responses.
I like the brigthness of what Cat-Man did
The closed cell foam sounds like the way to go, I was worried about the foam absorbing the moisture. What about fabric, my wife wants to go with "Sunbrella" I think that this might be a little costly, is there any other alternative?
Also is there a treatment that I should put over the cushions?


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## Sumner10 (Dec 10, 2008)

Adele-H said:


> Thank you for all the responses.
> I like the brigthness of what Cat-Man did
> The closed cell foam sounds like the way to go, I was worried about the foam absorbing the moisture. What about fabric, my wife wants to go with "Sunbrella" I think that this might be a little costly, is there any other alternative?
> Also is there a treatment that I should put over the cushions?


Have you actually laid down on closed cell foam?

closed-cell foam, slow recovery memory foams, polyethylene roll, cross linked polyethylene, polyethylene, neoprene, polystyrene, EPS,

I'd be sure and try some out first. If you like extremely firm it might be for you. It is what the make exercise mats and wrestling mats out of. Maybe it is what you want, but I wouldn't worry about the moisture deal myself. It has been no problem for us and have never noticed it happening.

Consider cutting the v-berth if that is the shape of the berth or even a rectangular berth....










...into 3 sections. Then if for some reason you do get things wet (like leave a hatch open) it is easy to get the mattress out in pieces to dry.

We always have bedding on our mattress so the cover doesn't matter and we weren't going to spend the money on an expensive covering.

We made covers that go on and off....










...out of sheet material and it has worked fine and would be easy to replace.

We also took the time to make fitted....



















...bottom and....










....top sheets (not much time) and it is now easy to make the bed and in fact with the 3 piece mattress you don't even have to climb up in there to do it.










You do it standing at the head of the bed by putting the fitted sheets on the first cushion and then pushing it forward and adding the second and third sections. The way the sheets attach to the first section keeps them in place until it is time to change them.

All the info is here near the bottom of the page .....

Endeavour 37 Canvas Mods Index

We now use this same method on both boats and love it,

Sum

Our 37 Endeavour --- Our 26 MacGregor --- Trips With Both


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

davidpm said:


> What kind of carpet, how may layers.
> How would you describe it.
> Sounds like ultra, super, firm
> 
> Does it tend to absorb moisture?


Thick carpet three or four layers. I cover it with Sampson, 3 oz dacron saturated with PVC, the same material waterproof kayak dry bags are made of.
No problems, in decades of use.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

I personally wouldnt recommend using closed foam for interior cushions. Its like sitting or laying on a park bench.

We used medium high density high end foam for redoing our cushions and sleeping areas. 
Its the difference between just doing it and having the project be comfortable. Axs far as fabric I would look fopr a breathable ploupholstery fabric at a discount store like joannes or franlklins. You dont want to sweat while sleeping on it and you want oit breathable so if you can find a blend of 80 poly/ 20 cotton thats a great way to go.

dave


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

Adele-H said:


> Thank you for all the responses.
> I like the brigthness of what Cat-Man did. The closed cell foam sounds like the way to go, I was worried about the foam absorbing the moisture. What about fabric, my wife wants to go with "Sunbrella" I think that this might be a little costly, is there any other alternative?
> Also is there a treatment that I should put over the cushions?


Closed-cell form can be also encapsulated in sealed plastic sheeting and used in making flotation devices. So cockpit cushions can double as life-saving devices and water toys.

Sunbrella-style fabrics may have anti-fungal thread coatings. Plus, they can be used anywhere; if you want to drag cushions out to sun them, that kind of fabric is less likely to rapidly fade.

It's more costly initially, but your wife's instinct is correct.


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## smurphny (Feb 20, 2009)

As Brent has noted, most of the foam in cushions is very soft, not the best thing to sleep on. I've been thinking about replacing the foam with camping mat type foam which is much stiffer. Gym mat foam may also be better for back preservation and is closed cell so will not absorb water.

Gymnastic Rubber, Gym Mats, Dance Flooring


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

I have done a lot of upholstery for the furniture that I build and for the boat. So let's clarify a bit. Closed cell foam, does not absorb water but as Chef says, is like sitting on a park bench. IMO, it is not the way to go for interior cushions. My boat does not leak so I don't worry about absorption. There are basically two types of readily available foam - regular density and high density. Both are available at local fabric stores like JoAnn Fabrics. For seat cushions, use high density. Regular density is cheaper but soft and will bottom out and your back will hurt.



> T'would be nice if the surfaces under cushions were ventilated by design. Does anyone make 'waterproof' 3/4" peg-board? Suppose you could go over an existing surface and drill 1" holes every 4" but what a project. But then you could repaint those surfaces with an anti fungal agent added.


There is an easier solution. We use plastic pet screening available at Lowes or Home Depot for the bottoms. It's indestructible and easy to sew. This allows the underside of the cushion to breathe and air out. It's not an original idea - I saw it on our original cushions. *UPDATE: JoAnn Fabrics used to stock the backing mesh, but they stopped last year when I went to buy more. When I looked at what I was actually buying, I realized that the mesh was nothing more than what I had on my back screen door. The only difference is that JoAnn had it in white and the screen material is gray. I don't care what color it is - it's on the back.
*
These are some of the cushions that I made this past spring from Sunbrella and JoAnn Fabrics high density foam:


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

>We use plastic pet screening available at Lowes or Home Depot for the bottoms. It's indestructible and easy to sew.<

This is a good idea. Although I still like the idea of ventilated spaces that would get air circulation simply due to collateral uses. For renovating an older boat, such stores carry parts that can be adapted to marine use, and because there's a mass market, the prices are much lower than comparable things at 'marine supply' places. Plus those devices often use standard sizes that are less likely to be quickly obsoleted. 

Perhaps one issue will be the physical size of an item. Or its non-nautical appearance. Coastal Home Depots may even stock some items for the power-boater crowd. Enjoy roaming those aisles and letting your imagination run riot...


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## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

IMO, a cushion is at least 50% or more ventilated. Ventilating the bottom is going to be difficult by its nature because it's normally on a solid platform. I think that even on a perforated board, you're not going to get much relief. 

The problem is that the marine environment is wet - there is no way around it. So we can only try mitigate the effects.... this thread shows some of those attempts, including mine. 

With respect to musty smelling cushions, the biggest culprit is storing cushions on a boat when it's laid up in winter. The combination of condensation, a closed boat, and cold temperatures is a virtual guarantee for mold. We remove all cushions, life jackets, awnings, food, towels, linens and take them home. Then we open all the cabinets and drawers. We periodically spray the bilge and other less-open area with Tilex. The net effect is that at best, we hold the mustiness at bay.


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

For live-aboards, airing out must be the practice. Putting all fabric items out in the Sun for a few hours per month or week, as women once hung out clothes on backyard lines, is then the thing to do. Hence the Sunbrella coverings.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Sabreman said:


> IMO, a cushion is at least 50% or more ventilated. Ventilating the bottom is going to be difficult by its nature because it's normally on a solid platform. I think that even on a perforated board, you're not going to get much relief.
> 
> The problem is that the marine environment is wet - there is no way around it. So we can only try mitigate the effects.... this thread shows some of those attempts, including mine.
> 
> With respect to musty smelling cushions, the biggest culprit is storing cushions on a boat when it's laid up in winter. The combination of condensation, a closed boat, and cold temperatures is a virtual guarantee for mold. We remove all cushions, life jackets, awnings, food, towels, linens and take them home. Then we open all the cabinets and drawers. We periodically spray the bilge and other less-open area with Tilex. The net effect is that at best, we hold the mustiness at bay.


Kanaberra Gel

Works like a charm


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

Kanberra Gel

marinediscounters.com Product List


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## Sumner10 (Dec 10, 2008)

Enigma0 said:


> For live-aboards, airing out must be the practice. Putting all fabric items out in the Sun for a few hours per month or week, as women once hung out clothes on backyard lines, is then the thing to do. Hence the Sunbrella coverings.


Which Sunbrella are you recommending? They have marine indoor/outdoor furniture fabrics and heavier materials like used for dodgers, sail covers, etc..

I think putting things out in the sun once in a while is a good idea, but about any fabric can take a couple hours like you recommended such as hanging clothes out on the line.

If someone needs ventilation under the bedding then I'd....










.... get some 3/4 or 1 inch square aluminum tubing from Home Depot or someone else and run it lengthwise along the bed about 8-10 inches apart (parallel for a rectangular berth and down into a V for a V-berth stopping the middle pieces up short at the narrow end of the V except for the perimeter ones).

You could keep it in place with flat Aluminum strap pop-riveted to it going across the bed area.

Then cover that...










...with the tiles shown above that you can get from a number of places including I think WM.

I still don't see the need for this except for some extreme situations,

Sum

Our 37 Endeavour --- Our 26 MacGregor --- Trips With Both


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## Enigma0 (Dec 29, 2012)

On Sunbrella (there are competing products you can get via upholstery and window-dressing shops), the kind used for lawn and deck chairs works inside a boat. For the cockpit cushions marine grade is probably better. Dodger material would be too heavy, except of course for dodgers and hatch-covers.

Using those interlocking tiles may be even better than drilling holes, although one could do both - just a lot fewer holes, say a few in a center and a few along the edges. If there's a water tank beneath the berth, shouldn't drill however. There your hollow aluminium stock idea kicks in. Welded sectional frames could lift out rather than nailing them down permanently.

Another poster mentioned carpet ends, and they're right. A thick high-pile synthetic or full-wool carpet on top of the mattress is better for the back, and can be replaced at low cost every couple of years.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

+1 on Kanberra gel. Its expensive but works. Area needs to have less airflow for a while, such as when closed up. If companionway is open all day, I think the vapor it just blown away.

I will admit my advice on closed cell foam has a history and a hypocrisy. The history is a set of cushion that stunk so badly that I literally wanted to toss them overboard and sit on the wood instead. Tried everything. Boat went before the cushions. The hypocrisy is that I don't use it myself, as we have a 24/7 dehumifier. 

For winter storage, we should buy stock in the maker of the storage bags that use a vacuum cleaner to shrink. Everything from linens to bath matts to galley towels, to cushions go inside and stay aboard.


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