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Cushion Issue

Papidoos56

1973 E32-2
OK… so I recently acquired a 1973 Ericson 32 Sailboat. Upon looking at the cushion inventory I noticed a mish mash of designs, some original, some fairly recent (although I have to say poorly done) recoverings. I took it upon myself to order some supplies from Sailrite, watch their videos, etc.

Today I went up to where my boat is and using the scrim I ordered and following the directions, I took patterns for the V-berth, Port side settee, right side settee, and aft berth. When I got home I matched what I had patterned with what I had retrieved from the boat. Not surprisingly, or perhaps a bit surprisingly, some of the patterns I traced did not match the cushions nor the foam itself once I pulled it out. This was not true for the unusual V berth and aft cushions, which, although probably original were at least shaped correctly. The newer cushions looked like they were done from measurements or guesswork rather than tracings. Probably not as accurate.

My questions are:
1) Should I trust my tracings and get new foam?
2) Does Foam go bad? Shrink? Harden? One of my cushion foams is at least 1” shorter all around than the form I traced.
3) Is the foam/cushion for the drop table in the Port Settee supposed to be bigger than the table to sort of squeeze into the gap? The foam is 2 ½” longer than my tracing but the same width as the table.
4) Does the same apply to the Keystone cushion? Is it designed to squeeze into the gap between the two V berth cushions?


I appreciate any time and help.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Well, while the existing foam will probably not be found "going bad" by hanging out on street corners.... :)
Yup, it does have a finite life.

Some background: new boats often sell to inexperienced buyers and they are often impressed by how soft the cushions are when sitting on them at the boat show. This is a win//win for the boat builder, since density is tied somewhat to cost. They save a few bucks and the initial customer likes how they sit for the first several years. And then, a lot of buyers are going to be day sailors or racers doing only occasional overnight trips. When the cushions increasingly "bottom out" when you sit on them, it's easy to ignore for a while, the change being incremental.

Better foam is more dense, and the resistance to weight (compression) can be measured by pounds per foot, IIRC. I might have the meaning mis-remembered but do remember the friendly lecture we got from a professional upholsterer (50 years experience and counting) when we had our factory cushions repaired with new zippers and one re-covered, back in '95. He convinced us to upgrade to 2.6 density for our new foam, and we are still happy with it, sitting or reclining.

The other thing is mold and mildew. Our boat came with cushions that were shot through with black mold. That was reason alone to throw away the foam. They sat 'flat' and were not comfortable.

Be prepared for spending some money on new quality foam. We believe it's worth it, but we spend at least a month of nights aboard every year.

Best to measure your cushions, top panels and bottom panels. I have never made my own, but friends have and they say it is tedious but satisfying when done.

FWIW our V berth filler cushion is a tight fit when dropped in place.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Old foam goes bad, stinks, falls apart. Acceptable foam doesn't change its size once removed from the cover. If there's a disparity, remeasure.

Your upholstery patterns should be made from the foam, not the existing cloth. The top and bottom plates will then be accurate, plus the seam allowance. The trick to upholstering foam is batting, added later to fills voids and smooth wrinkles. If a big error is made, foam can easily be cut down, or its size increased by gluing on a new section.

If you're new to sewing, I suggest practice on a hidden cushion to see how it works. ( I have a 6-part blog on "Sewmanship.")

Also, if you buy new foam, thoroughly research firmness, density and thickness. That's easy to get wrong, and the stuff is expensive.

 
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