cushion or cushion cover material

Hello
in rough seas or from rain you can get wet and when you go inside the boat you can easily wet the cushions especially in a small boat like mine that you dont have a shower stall or closed toilet compartment and wet locker in it.
When you sit or lay down with your wet closed on the bed i doesn't gets dry easily again. So to do for it?
should i use sunbrella cloth as the cover of the mattress of the bunk? or should i use a kind of waterproof foam for bunks if there is one?

Regards
Ulas

 

There are a few approaches - make the cushions water resistant and quickly drying or make them impervious. Water resistant coverings (nylon, dacron, etc.) over closed cell foam or vinyl/naugahyde over closed cell foam are typical. The best thing you can do is talk to your local marine upholster and see what they recommend. SunBrella is fine for tents and bimini tops, but much less desired for cushions, not to mention, it's not very comfortable touching the skin.

 

unfortunately i have a foam and cover for my bunks.
I have open cell mattress and not water resistant cover.
What my upsholder says is to take the matress out, cover it naylon and put it again into the cover. Cheapest solution.

 

what about removing the cushions completely and going to trampoline or hammock type chairs and beds? It saves weight too. a lot of racing yachts have this set up and of course hammocks were traditional crew accommodations on historic navel vessels.

A sleeping cot used for camping can be very comfortable with either thin closed celled foam pad or an air matress, and you have no place for moisture or condensation to be trapped, much lower weight and less likely to develop mold or rot or other moisture related issues with traditional uplustry.

We spend many summer weekends enjoying our yard or camping using those new type folding chairs that only use a single layer of nylon for the seat and back. Captains type chairs are similar, only a single layer of fabric with no padding. All can be very comfortable, it just depends on a good design. You can make a light varnished wood frame and than lace in a seat or bed of mesh or other synthetic fabric. Look, ma! No foam! Problem solved.

 

No, i can not be comfortable with that. My boat is small but i go long distances with her and this year i i am planning to start living in it.

 

You have to live with the restraints you've imposed . . . Nylon or vinyl . . .

 

it looks like the easiest and cheapest solution. but it will not take any air..
what do you think about the mold grow in the foam? but maybe it is better to think the other solutions later maybe...

 

I do not know why you can not be comfortable with that, if the fabric trampoline was shapped carefully and has just the correct amount of tension in it, it can be quiet comforatable.

this is a very comfortable recliner, and very costly, but has no foam or padding:



These kind of chairs are very popular and are comfortable enough to sit in all day:

 

It depends on person i quess. I can not imagine myself sleeping on it everynight. BUt you can be comfortable on your expensive tramboline.

 

My travel trailer has zippered removable covers for washing I guess, and the foam itself is first inserted into big plastic garbage bags before the covers are put on. That keeps the moisture confined to the cover itself which dries out quickly.

 

If your cushions let moisture through, it will condensate on the bottom surface where the mattress lays on and get really moldy and smelly. That is a common occurrence for liveaboards on small boats. They were never designed for continuous use. The reason your bed at home has a base or foundation is to let the air circulate and the moisture dry out. I have drilled a series of holes on boats to help with that problem. A better solution is to have webbing or slats under.

 

To solve the problem Gonzo mentions, I've used a few different methods. The first is a set of strips or a grid of cedar (or any wood species) under the cushion, which lifts it off the surface enough so it can ventilate when one one is using it. More recently I used a grating systems, designed for garage floors. They look like the sides of those old milk crates, but with interlocking edges. They are heavily perforated and completely inert (PVC I think). They serve the same function under a cushion.

I've used nylon straps, much like a lawn chairs for berths and seating. Very comfortable if you get the tension right, also very light, if weight is a concern.