Been thinking about making some bow cushions for awhile and now that I am using the boat to go cruising and tubing with the kids, it seems like they would be very useful for the kids to sit on.
After reading others suggestions and getting helpful advice here from Aquarich (thanks!), I finally got around to starting the project.
I decided to make two sections with one section just covering the fishbox hatch with the rationale that it should make it easier to access the hatch even when the cushion is installed. While I don't plan to have the cushions in the boat while fishing, the fishbox is useful storage space on this small boat.
Materials:
1. marine vinyl from Joanne Fabric. Aqua color was available in store but I didn't see it online. Not a perfect match for the boat colors but it's pretty close and I am happy with it.
2. 3" foam from Joanne.
3. 1/2" exterior plywood from Lowes
4. Water-resistant outdoor poly spray (from Lowes)
5. Waterproof spray adhesive (actually from Blick - I couldn't find it at Lowes)
6. Stainless steel or monel staples. I used 3/8" T50 and my hand stapler which worked fine.
Steps:
1. Measure and cut the plywood to the size of the bow. I left about 1/2" on each side to allow for foam/vinyl on end product.
2. Sand edges of the plywood cutouts so they are not sharp corners. I used my small electric sander for this but you could probably to it by hand.
3. Three coats of spray polyurethane on both sides and all edges of plywood. Let dry fully
4. Place plywood on top of foam and trace outline.
5. Cut foam, allowing 1/2" beyond the outline. ie: the foam is slightly larger than the plywood cutout. I used a bread knife to cut the foam and it worked very well and was very quick. If you have an electric carving knife that would work well too (thats what they used at Joann when I bought it).
6. Spray plywood on one side with adhesive. Place the adhesive side of plywood on top of the foam, taking care to have an even amount of foam on all sides (remember, foam bigger than plywood so 1/2" showing on all sides). Push it down and let dry 10 minutes.
7. Cut a piece of vinyl that is the exact size of the plywood and staple to the plywood.
8. Now cut a piece of vinyl that is big enough to wrap around the cushion to the back so there is about 2" available for stapling along the entire back of the cushion. Note that the vinyl comes in 54" width and in this case I was able to get both pieces for step 7 and 8 from the same length of vinyl.
9. Staple the vinyl cover to the seat. take care to stretch slightly as needed to maintain un-bunched, smooth layout especially on the final edge that you staple. Folding the vinyl at the corners is a bit of an art - I got the wife to help with that part.
10. Trim excess vinyl. Voila!
Now make the second cushion in the same way. Fits nicely in the bow of the boat.
Pics below.
Again, thanks to Aquarich for the detailed advice and relaying his experience with the same project.
