Salon Settee Cushion Update

Four-year-old fabric

Just a follow-up on a project. I used the Sunbrella 8304-0000 linen to make salon cushions in February of 2013. Now, more than 4 years later, the fabric still looks as good as it did the first day.

We had a long debate about the white fabric. We do all the work on the boat, so we're frequently filthy with grease, oil, sanding dust, or any of the other hundreds of ways boats get you dirty. We were nervous about having white cushions, but we really needed the light color to brighten up the cave feeling of the boat. After a few months of living with it, I decided to make slip covers for the bottom cushions so I wouldn't have to wash them so much. I used Velux blankets and made two sets that I can trade out when I do laundry. I ordered two different colors to match the striped pillows I made, just to have some variety in the interior.

Brand new in 2013

The fabric is nothing short of a miracle. I can wash it in the washer on low temp, and dry it in the dryer. It doesn't shrink at all, but the webbing I used on the back to sew the mounting snaps on does shrink so I use lower temps. We have successfully removed every single stain from the fabric, most just using a little dish soap on a microfiber cloth. Our toddler granddaughter recently wrote on it with gel art pen, and even that came out with just a touch of hydrogen peroxide and a microfiber cloth. Ketchup, blood, dirt, grass, all came out with ease. Since I tufted the backs with buttons, it's harder to remove the covers to wash. I simply use soap suds on a brush and surface clean the cushion. Then I set them out in the sun and they dry quickly.

If you need to reupholster your salon cushions, I can't say enough good about this fabric. If you're going to buy it, please give the business to the folks at Sailrite.com. You won't regret the customer service you get there which is just another bonus on the fabric.

Tick √

We've had a couple good weekends making progress on projects and it's a real high (I know - we're nerds). Last weekend I got the pilot berth and both settee bottom cushions recovered, and this weekend I got the missing starboard 2 back cushions built and covered. All I have left to do is to build and cover the port backrest 2 cushions next weekend and I'll be able to tick this project off the list. It's been on the list maybe longer than any other single project so it will feel good to get it checked off. Even though I'm not quite done, I'm so happy with the results that I thought I'd pass them on for your approval. And yes, we agonized for weeks over the color choice of white, but after seeing so many other Tartan 42s with white cushions, and realizing how much it would lighten up the dark interior, we decided to take the plunge. We will, of course, be coating them with Scotchguard.

This is the before. The cushions were covered with a very expensive ultrasuede material, but was so poorly sewn that they came off every time you sat on them. I sure hope they didn't pay very much money for the labor. It was a real waste of excellent material. The blue was also too dark for the dark interior. The backrest cushions were never in the boat when we bought it. There were screw holes where the snap bases used to be to hold the cushions, but, like so many other things on this boat, they were missing. It was also impossible to get comfortable on the seats since the bottom cushion was too wide to lean back. You had to put a couple pillows behind you just to lean back to read a book. I decided to build two backrest cushions so we could easily access the storage lockers that you see here behind the settee.

This is the after. We may yet add the missing end cushions but I first have to finish the port side backrest cushions. For the time being we're using pillows there.

We have a saying that we used in our family with our kids when we were faced with a long or difficult project or list of projects: "Left foot, right foot". One at a time, little by little, but progress nonetheless.