Need Bow Sun Pads redone!

Dani-Lu

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2007
1,352
Delray Beach, Fl
Boat Info
2001 410DA
Engines
3126 Cats
I am in Delray Beach. Any recommendations for a good reupholstery business in the area?

Also, I am thinking of maybe using sunbrella canvas instead of vinyl. Anyone have any experience using Sunbrella for sun pads? I was thinking Sunbrella may hold up better if I leave the sun pads in place much of the time.
 
I have a sunbrella sunpad with white fiber mesh on the bottom and I love it. It breathes, doesn't retain much water and drys fast in the sun and is cooler to the touch than vinyl.

I would recommend going with a reticulated foam cushion (aka dryfast) as it will not absorb and hold water like a sponge as normal foam will. It's probably 2 or 3 times the cost of normal foam but for something that may be in a wet environment will be well worth it.

-Kevin
 
I have a sunbrella sunpad with white fiber mesh on the bottom and I love it. It breathes, doesn't retain much water and drys fast in the sun and is cooler to the touch than vinyl.

I would recommend going with a reticulated foam cushion (aka dryfast) as it will not absorb and hold water like a sponge as normal foam will. It's probably 2 or 3 times the cost of normal foam but for something that may be in a wet environment will be well worth it.

-Kevin

Kevin, thanks for the reply. Your feedback just confirmed my thoughts on the sunbrella and dryfast foam. And I hate constantly taking those pads in and out, so would like to leave them on and with a light color sunbrella, I would think that would be ok down here, most months.

I walked in a local place down here, and the guy quoted me $1,800, which sounds ridiculously high for 2 pads with the Sunbrella and dryfast. Is the dryfast foam that expensive, or is he trying to take advantage of a NYer?

Thanks!

Jeff
 
we had new pads made from sundrella also with the mesh bottoms and sunbrella cover. I highly recommend it as it doesn’t heat up nearly as much as vinyl.
They made the backs adjustable and made from starboard material. Just something to look into.

As for the cost it was $1400 for the pads and $450 for the cover this was a co in Jersey .
 
I have a sunbrella sunpad with white fiber mesh on the bottom and I love it. It breathes, doesn't retain much water and drys fast in the sun and is cooler to the touch than vinyl.

I would recommend going with a reticulated foam cushion (aka dryfast) as it will not absorb and hold water like a sponge as normal foam will. It's probably 2 or 3 times the cost of normal foam but for something that may be in a wet environment will be well worth it.

-Kevin
We’ve been thinking of doing something like this so we can leave the bow cushions out on the deck instead of having to take up space below to store them. The dry fast foam web site suggests that the foam needs to have some space under it for air flow to stay dry. Do your bow cushions sit right on the deck, like ours currently do, or are they somehow elevated off the deck surface?
 
Kevin, thanks for the reply. Your feedback just confirmed my thoughts on the sunbrella and dryfast foam. And I hate constantly taking those pads in and out, so would like to leave them on and with a light color sunbrella, I would think that would be ok down here, most months.

I walked in a local place down here, and the guy quoted me $1,800, which sounds ridiculously high for 2 pads with the Sunbrella and dryfast. Is the dryfast foam that expensive, or is he trying to take advantage of a NYer?

Thanks!

Jeff

Personally and professionally I would not want to knock someones quote without knowing all the details.

When I price out a job for someone I am always basing it on anticipation of time and materials. PM or call me if you want to discuss.

-Kevin
 
We’ve been thinking of doing something like this so we can leave the bow cushions out on the deck instead of having to take up space below to store them. The dry fast foam web site suggests that the foam needs to have some space under it for air flow to stay dry. Do your bow cushions sit right on the deck, like ours currently do, or are they somehow elevated off the deck surface?

Mine sits right on my deck. The fiber mesh bottom allows water to drain and doesn't hold moisture like regular foam. It does get some ventilation to help dry it out but it has never been a problem.

Also remember the sunbrella is fairly water resistant and moisture entry would be primarily at seams.

One thing to note is that based on my mounting around the deckrails on the bow of my 340SDA I tend to remove them if I will be cruising for a while at higher speeds. This is because air flow does get underneath and pulls them up off the deck. I don't want to stress the straps and have them. They are light and easy to move.

-Kevin
 
Kevin, ours slide into a plastic rail on the deck and then have bungee cords at the rear ( if you can picture that) the cover has another rail to slide into and has elastic at the rear ours stay on all the time I believe this set up helps hold all the pieces from carching air.
 
I forgot to mention is the idea about the reticulated foam is that water is supposed to pass through it. Despite the videos on the web of water pouring through some will get trapped in the foam. The difference is that it is not absorbed like regular foam and escapes and evaporates more easily.

Funny story about regular foam. I recently did a job for a friend replacing some deck cushions. When I went to see the existing I could not figure out how it was attached so I asked only to find out it wasn't. The cushions were vinyl all around with regular foam and were filled with water. Needless to say we went with all new reticulated foam and fiber mesh back but to match other work stayed with pleated vinyl.

-Kevin
 
Kevin, ours slide into a plastic rail on the deck and then have bungee cords at the rear ( if you can picture that) the cover has another rail to slide into and has elastic at the rear ours stay on all the time I believe this set up helps hold all the pieces from carching air.

Makes sense but this is how the 340SDA mounts and with the cored bow deck I really don't want to introduce additional intrusions. I am guessing it's a keder welt (awning type) track like I have on my arch.

-Kevin
 
Mine are Sunbrella with dry fast foam and I like them. Wife says the dry fast foam is a bit stiff but they are still a winner.

We always lay a towel on them before use to keep the sunscreen, sweat, etc. off them.
IMG_1385.jpg
 
I have a sunbrella sunpad with white fiber mesh on the bottom and I love it. It breathes, doesn't retain much water and drys fast in the sun and is cooler to the touch than vinyl.

I would recommend going with a reticulated foam cushion (aka dryfast) as it will not absorb and hold water like a sponge as normal foam will. It's probably 2 or 3 times the cost of normal foam but for something that may be in a wet environment will be well worth it.

-Kevin

What color do you have with black canvas?

MM
 
They are black (and hot)!

You see, it's like this fellas....it has to look good. Form over function at times.

Boats are works art in my opinion, and aesthetics hold a strong card. We mostly use these for the occasional sunset adult beverage and they beat the hell out of sitting on fiberglass.
 
They are black (and hot)!

You see, it's like this fellas....it has to look good. Form over function at times.

Boats are works art in my opinion, and aesthetics hold a strong card. We mostly use these for the occasional sunset adult beverage and they beat the hell out of sitting on fiberglass.


Yes I get it. Otherwise we would all be in Dave Pascoe's dream boat...

MM
 
My white vinyl OEM sunpad stays on the deck April to September. After five years the only degradation is on the bottom where the vinyl is chafed from sitting on the knurled deck. I am going to get this repaired this winter.
 
Like quint says they need to look good. Why not do them in a contrasting color? Ours are tresco? (Beige) to contrast the blue hull and seating
 

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