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Super Easy Boat Cushions |
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| By Bill Paxton - Apple Valley,
Minnesota - USA |
Let’s face it: wooden boat seats are hard!
Over the last five sailing seasons we’ve found
ourselves sitting on life jackets and throwable boat
cushions – both of which left us feeling like
we were sitting up too high. I didn’t even want
to know what custom cushions cost. Finally we’re
enjoying a solution that is working well for us, and
may just do the trick for you, too.
The idea is very simple: make a sleeve of terry cloth,
and insert a piece of dense foam through the sleeve’s
opening.
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A terry
cloth sleeve after stitching three sides.
(click
images to enlarge) |
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The building process was pretty straightforward.
I measured the size of the cushions I wanted, then
headed to a nearby big-box retail store and bought
some bathroom towels and two camping sleeping pads.
| Leave enough
space to get the pad in and out easily. |
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The towels can be bath towels or beach towels. What’s
important is that they look good on your boat. The
terry cloth is comfortable to sit on, and can be tossed
in the washer when dirty.
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Slip the
foam pad into the sleeve. |
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The sleeping pad is closed-cell foam, and pretty
inexpensive.
| A finished
seat cushion. |
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The steps to make the cushions are simple.
- Toss the towels in the washer so they shrink
BEFORE you stitch them.
- Cut the sleeping pads into the shape of your
boat seats.
- Keeping in mind that you’re making
is a terry cloth sleeve for the pad, spread out
the towel on a table, and lay the cut-out pad on
the towel. Fold the towel over the pad to create
the sleeve. Use straight pins to hold towel in place,
and cut off the excess length. Remove the pad.
- Using a sewing machine (C’mon, guys
– it’s a power tool!) stitch the sides
and ONE end to enclose the sleeve. Remove the pins.
- Turn the bag inside out, slip in the pad,
and your cushion is done.
I left one end open so I can take the pads out and
wash the sleeves easily. My cushions are not held
down to the seats with ties or Velcro – they
just sit there. Do whatever seems best to you in this
regard.
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Three
cushions on each side to match the hatches.
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I made the sleeve roomy enough to slip in a second
pad if we wanted more cushioning. So far the single
pad is working just fine.
-Bill-
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