As spring tries to make a presence in northern Michigan the list of boat projects continues to build. Regardless of the necessity or the need, there is one item that must be addressed…
Cockpit cushions.
Comfy cockpit cushions would have been nice!
We spent last season padding the cockpit using beach towels, throw-able floatation devices, pillows – anything to make ourselves more comfortable whether we were anchored or under way. That being said, we now know how important these cushy pieces can be. The next step is deciding to either make them ourselves or paying the pennies to have them professionally made by someone who really knows what they are doing.
The big question is: Could we make em? Steph has a love hate relationship (at best) with our sewing machine… would we even want to may be a better question. We know that they are a must for us before we splash the boat this spring and we’re certainly not afraid to try them on our own. They would be a great challenge for trying not to swear like a sailor our sewing skills too. We’d probably bust more than a few needles, but maybe they’d be worth the effort… Making them on our own would also provide that much more confidence when taking on additional sewing projects. Such as the tear in the bimini cover, or even going so far as to sew up the mainsail cover – both of which we found torn sections from one of mothers natures fierce blows last fall.
The other option is dropping the coin, and paying someone else to do them for us… but what fun would that be? What experience would that provide us… or should we know when to fold them? Right, maybe this is one of those projects that needs to be done by those professional guys with real industrial strength sewing machines able to whip them out in substantially less time.
We’re back and forth with on this one. The lessons of “pay now, or pay later” have taught us to appreciate the value of good quality work, and the time commitment involved with doing it ourselves. Cockpit cushions seem to be so important to the comfort and enjoyment of sailing, what would you do in this situation, have any of you tried to take on the cushion project only to realize how much time and effort is involved? oh, decisions, decisions…
We had our existing cushions recovered at a very handsome price… but they are lovely and have a special water proofing thingy-ma-jig in them which has been great. They should hopefully last for the long run now too. Tough decision! Very cute photo though!
We were sailing back to our mooring, less than 15 minutes from it – Ben finally fell asleep!
I commend you for wanting to do them yourself but having a sewing machine myself and tried to do some heavy material sewing job. Results were at best ok but went through many needles and my machine was very angry with me. I wont try again.
Machines can get pretty cranky, I’m sure we would spend more on needles than the cushions would cost us in the end.