Re-upolstery

I am planning on recovering all of the interior cushions on an IP 350. Would appreciate any thoughts regarding materials and vendors. Plan to re-use the foam rubber. We are in Chicago.

Rick P
CHANCE
IP-350-11

One of my favorite places to get what I need or such projects is Sailrite. You can go to their website and/or request a paper catalog. I personally suggest the paper catalog, the printing quality is top notch and the color swatches are very accurate. The prices are so good that when we had a person sew our cushion covers she said Sailrite prices beat her regular local suppliers. I believe they are located just south of Chicago as well so shipping should be reasonable. They specialize in DIY projects and have both indoor and outdoor Sunbrella.

Check out their website!

Thanks for that information, Hayden. We intend to replace all our canvas and upholstery as we can afford it. We checked out JSI in St. Pete and did not like the new upholstery guy, so we are still looking.

Living aboard for five years we wanted something more comfortable than boat foam for our cushions down below. We had all new cushions made with a thicker, more comfortable foam used for regular indoor upholstery. The material we used was a high grade interior fabric. We've lived with these now for two years and they've held up great and comfort aboard is hugely improved. Probably the best thing we did was adding a slight angle to the back cushions. More info here (ip42035-4.blogspot.com). A local upholstery shop did all the work for about $2k.
PS - the pictures on our blog show the bottom cushions covered with red towels, something we did when we first got them. Did that for about a month and finally gave in and used without the towels. Looking back after two years the towels were not needed at all. Everything still looks great after 24/7 use year round.

We just had all of our cushions re-done after purchasing the boat in May. A local canvas shop did the work, Sunbrella fabric, new foam on the bottoms (the back were fine) and new foam in the berths $4,200

Has anyone redone them themselves with a Sailrite machine? If so how was the process?

I'm about to order fabric to redo all of an IP 350's below cushions from Sailrite. All of the sewing etc being done by a local (Chicago) upholsterer

Rick P

Yes maybe I am better off getting someone to do the sewing as well, just like the idea of being able to create them myself and justify the Sailrite sewing machine for other jobs... Also seems there are some more reasonable quotes than what I was given locally.

Working on them now and cushions are on the harder scale of do it yourself, but not terribly difficult.

If you go the Sailrite, start off on small projects to cut your teeth, which will make the larger projects much easier. A lot of people by a machine and dodger kit, then pull their hair out as it is not as easy as they make it look on the videos. BUT, if you start with nice squares - Yanmar panel, then hatch covers, then hand rail covers, winch covers, dodger/enclosure, box cockpit cushions, then box interior pattern cushions, then the irregulars like v-berth, corner cushions - then by the time you get to the cushions you will have it down. This from someone who never touched a sewing machine before the sailrite.

The plus side of Sailrite is the resale on the machines is almost full price, so even if you don't get to the harder projects, you will not lose money overall.

Excellent, That is what I assumed, start small and then get the hang of the process and techniques - especially the sizing and order of elements. They do make things like piping look easy but on very short or small pieces of material.... Thanks!

Shortly after buying my new IP35 in 1994, I had all the settee and seat coverings replaced with automotive grade genuine leather. I retained the original foam. Also had 6 throw pillows made of leather. I did not replace the coverings on the berths. There is nothing more durable and comfortable than leather, in my opinion. It is very resistant to stains (except ball point pen), wear, and it breathes so it is comfortable even when it is hot. It ages with aplomb and adds a definite upgraded look.. 21 years later, I still love it.