Keeping cockpit cushions dry

[Chinook]

We ordered the optional gray nogahide covered sponge foam cockpit cushions when we bought our boat. The rigid foam optional cushions were way more expensive, and the standard cushions have served us well for many years. One of the biggest problems we've had with them has to do with getting water logged. The covers aren't waterproof, and the sponge foam acts just like - well - a sponge. Nightly dew in the cockpit accumulates under the seat cushions and soon saturates the foam. And of course, rain soaks them up right away. Even with our full cockpit surround in place, small trickles of water drain down onto the cockpit seat area up front, ,and will saturate the cushions. I've spent a lot of time removing the foam, wringing it out and letting it air dry before cramming it back into the covers.

I've read in this forum about folks who have replaced the sponge foam with closed cell foam, and that seems to be a reasonable fix, although I suspect it is a rather pricey one. I think I've come up with a good fix, which is quite reasonable in terms of price. We visited with a vendor at the Seattle Boat Show on Tuesday, who sells a product called HyperVent. It resembles the stiff, tangled fiber material you find in furnace filters, but is made of plastic. It has a smooth backing, and is 3/4" thick. It comes in a 39" wide roll, which is more than wide enough to cut a pair of panels for the seat cushions. He was selling it at the Boat Show for $10 a foot (regular price iss $12/'). Our seat cushions are exactly 6 feet long, so a 7 foot long piece is plenty to do both the side seat cushions, as well as the steering seat cushion. It can be easily spliced with duct tape, so odd sized scraps can be readily put to use. He mainly sells it for use under bed mattress cushions, to create air circulation beneath the mattress pad and to keep the pad up above a surface which can get wet from condensation. I think it would work great under the Vee berth or king berth sleeping pad. I had recently installed those plastic dri dek squares in the Vee berth, so didn't need to use this stuff up there. In retrospect, I think the HyperVent material would have been a better choice, and certainly less expensive. I was able to cut sheets to fit our cockpit cushions, and slipped them in without too much trouble. The salesman advised spraying surfaces with silicon lubricating spray before slipping the foam back in. I did this and it seemed to make the job go better. I really like the added stiffness which my new cushion liners give the seat cushions, and it has to help in terms of seating comfort, as the original foam is a bit too soft. Time will tell regarding how well it does in keeping the foam dry. I'll report later, after a good trial in the Bahamas. The website for this stuff is www.hyperventmarine.com.

[March]

Excellent suggestion. I too considered all sorts of options, aiming to improve the cushions that were beginning to disintegrate around the snaps: closed-cell foam? Expensive and hard to work with. It would have required "sandwiching" several foils, cutting them to specs, etc.I was even thinking about using the peanuts meant for packing materials, but I suspect they would get squished in time and flattened. Someone mentioned that taping the foam core in plastic bags takes care of the humidity

How about spraying the surface of the foam with some sort of paint, to make it waterproof?

I am looking around for a set of cockpit cushions for a 26X. There is one set on bay, but the dealer says they have some rips (thanks a lot) and the shipping charges are obscene.

Anyone who has upgraded their cushions and is willing to let go of the old ones, if they're in decent condition?

Or: does anyone know where a new set of cushions can be purchased?

Thanks in advance

[ROAD Soldier]

Heavy Duty Camping self inflating sleeping mates for about $100 each. Come in a varity of colors, waterproof, wash off at end of day lay on the dock and by time you finish putting everything else away at the slip they are dry. Best idea I have ever come up with and no more wet butt feeling.

[Sumner]

We were very pleased with the DryFast Foam.....



http://www.thefoamfactory.com/outdoorfo ... rfoam.html

....we bought from the Foam Factory/Foambymail on the Florida trip. It worked well with heavy dew and also when it was rained on. No comparison at all to the old cushions. They show it on the site in sheets, but sell it cut to size for no charge along as it is a square/rectangular size and then you hardly have any waste so it is cheaper than the sheets. It is easy to cut with an electric carving knife ($15).



Of course we also changed the cushions to a cover that breaths also. The dryfast is a little stiffer than the foam we got for the bed, but kind of feels like memory foam. You sit on it and then sink in some and then stop sinking.



We are very happy with this solution also. At the very most if the cushions had been rained on hard we would double up a towel and put it on them for just a little while and then remove the towel. They don't wick back into the towel.

There is more on the cushions at these links......

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... -31-a.html

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... -31-b.html

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... -31-c.html

Mike are you leaving soon?

Sum

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[Chinook]

Mike are you leaving soon?

We plan to pull out of the driveway on March 2, if all preparations can be completed by then. Right now, things look good. I am just about done installing the autopilot, the Wallas stove has been serviced, and next week I take the boat over to BWY to get some things done that I don't want to do myself. Sandy is busy with some sewing projects, and will soon tackle the provisioning. We're really getting eager to take off.

[Rick Westlake]

Hypervent is excellent for keeping condensation out of your cabin cushions. Last winter I bought 6 yards of it from Defender.com; they did up-charge for the shipping, but the roll I got looked like a 55-gallon drum on my front porch! That was enough to put it under every seat and cushion in Bossa Nova's cabin, EXCEPT for the port half of the quarter berth under the cockpit; I have "Froli" plastic bed springs under there, because that's where I sleep. It would have taken two more yards for that area.

The texture of Hypervent is a lot like a super-sized Scotchbrite pad, except of course there are way fewer plastic filaments per square inch of Hypervent. This provides incredible ventilation under your cushions - which means that any condensation has way ample airspace to evaporate. And Hypervent is a little "cushiony" itself; at least, it's compressible like a bedspring, so there's a little extra "give" under your bed-cushions or seats.

Never thought of trying it under the cockpit cushions, Mike; but I never noticed the sponge foam in my cockpit cushions picking up any condensation. I'd decided not to bother to make new cushions this winter; I'd also been thinking about trying the ThermaRest type cushions that ROAD Soldier uses, because they roll up into next-to-nothing and thus are really easy to store.

[vizwhiz]

Has anyone tried using the thin plastic mattress covers that zip closed for covering a mattress? They're pretty cheap at wally-world and should do a good job of keeping the moisture out - cockpit cushions are what I'm thinking of...

[Highlander]

I'll check that out in wally mart today if I have time

Thx J

[vizwhiz]

Road Soldier, where'd you get the self-inflating mattresses for your cockpit? What size did you use, and do they break in the middle like that easily, or did you have to do something to get them to bend for the seat back? We're thinking of something like that for a temporary measure that we can easily take out and clean, and store easily also.

[ROAD Soldier]

Road Soldier, where'd you get the self-inflating mattresses for your cockpit? What size did you use, and do they break in the middle like that easily, or did you have to do something to get them to bend for the seat back? We're thinking of something like that for a temporary measure that we can easily take out and clean, and store easily also.

I bought mine here on sale for $99 USD each so wait for a sale of buy somewhere else. Bass Pro is not the only ones that carry them. You need the XL size. As far a folding them just make two long strips of industrial velcro on the bottom only. I originally put one on the bach rest side too but it would juct pull off mat eventually and was a pain to line up each time. With velcro just on the bottom it is more than enough to keep in place in storm conditions up to 50MPH winds. I know because I left them in one night and forgot to put them away at the slip and we had a major wind storm come through and they were still there next morning thank god.
http://www.basspro.com/ThermaRest-Luxur ... 4/-1693602

[Rick Westlake]

Out of curiosity I checked REI.com - their website shows an "REI Brand" self-inflating sleeping pad, very much like the Therm-A-Rest mattresses that ROAD Soldier is using, but a 29"x78" pad (3 1/2 inch thick) is $109 plus shipping and handling. (Or sales tax in my case; I'll buy in-store.)

I have been a member of REI Co-Op for thirty-plus years, and their house-brand gear has always been top-notch. REI doesn't put up with cheap knock-offs; everything I've ever gotten with their label has been as good as the name brands, and often it's made by the name-brand companies for REI.

I think I'm gonna get a pair of those mats.

[ROAD Soldier]

Out of curiosity I checked REI.com - their website shows an "REI Brand" self-inflating sleeping pad, very much like the Therm-A-Rest mattresses that ROAD Soldier is using, but a 29"x78" pad (3 1/2 inch thick) is $109 plus shipping and handling. (Or sales tax in my case; I'll buy in-store.)

I have been a member of REI Co-Op for thirty-plus years, and their house-brand gear has always been top-notch. REI doesn't put up with cheap knock-offs; everything I've ever gotten with their label has been as good as the name brands, and often it's made by the name-brand companies for REI.

I think I'm gonna get a pair of those mats.

The only thing Rick check them in the store to see how well they will crease. If they are 3 1/2 inches thick that might but a lot of force on them to not what to hold a crease. However if they do crease well yah that thickness would be great for Admirals and old guys wearing skirts.

[40Toes]

Has anyone tried using the thin plastic mattress covers that zip closed for covering a mattress? They're pretty cheap at wally-world and should do a good job of keeping the moisture out - cockpit cushions are what I'm thinking of...

Sort of. I bought plastic at a fabric store - I can't remember the mil thickness. I wrapped the foam in that and sealed it with tuck tape (stuff used on house wrap) and then put the covers back on. You can't completely seal it because the air needs to escape when you sit and compress the foam. I used an overlapping flap on the ends of the foam so the air could escape but water would not get in. Works pretty well, the foam did not get wet last year though I probably need to make the end flaps a little bigger. It is a damn sight better then removing that bloody foam every time it gets wet.

[Elliotte]

Hi,
Thanks for informing us to keep the cockpit cushions dry.
HyperVent is really a wonderful product for sailors and solved the problem of wetness.
Thanks

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