For many boaters a dinette and/or sofa isn't just somewhere to sit.  Its a place to eat, to entertain, to work PLUS provide a spare bed for visitors.  It may also be the only seating area.

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Dinette and sofa variations are considerable (fabric choice, plain or patterned, piped or not, size, depth of cushions, etc etc) and that is where there is no fixed price shown for making them, however there is a guide at the bottom of this page to give an indication only of cost.  There are however several important factors to consider when choosing new or replacement cushions, covers or both.

 

• Foam - Foam (literally) forms the foundation of your sofa/dinette cushions and when choosing foam you need to consider the following:

  • how often the seats are used?

  • how deep you would like them to be? 

  • how firm you would like them to be?

  • will they be used as an occasional bed?

 

For most a medium hardness foam is suitable, but if it is used frequently as a bed then a firmer foam will have more durability.  It is recommended that the foam is covered in a layer of Dacron, a compressed wadding that gives the cushions the domed effect that not only adds the comfort of the foam, but to the longevity of the fabric.  Dacron does not need to be added to all surfaces of the cushion, usually the top surface is sufficient. A layer of stockinette over the Dacron makes the covers much easier to remove for cleaning/replacing.  A combination of these 2 elements adds approximately £10 per cushion to the cost of the order.

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• Fabric - Fabric choice is a highly personal thing, however there are a number of factors to consider when choosing your fabric:

  • Pattern versus plain

    • Patterned fabrics can work very well as dinette/sofa cushions, however consider if you are likely to get bored with it, how the pattern is going to work in a small space, interior decoration of your boat, and how you can work with it should you choose to change your colour scheme.  Remember also that patterned fabrics need to be matched on your sofa/dinette cushions, so up to 25% extra fabric may be needed.

    • Plain fabrics may not be your first choice but there are a huge number of textured, mixed coloured thread plains on the market that add a base colour to your decoration and whose appearance can be altered drastically with the addition of different coloured accessories.  Teal for example is not only a stunning colour is its own right but can be paired with mustard, navy, pale blue, cream, grey, all of which will create and entirely different environment.  They also need less fabric to complete the covers.

  • The Martindale (rub) score

    • This is probably one of the most crucial (but unknown or simply overlooked) aspects of your fabric.  The Martindale score is a test carried out by the textile industry to establish how many times a piece of cloth can be rubbed over before it shows signs of wear and bobbling.  An occasional use chair would suffice with a 20,000 rub score but a dinette, where you "slide" along the cushions each time you sit down, would (in my opinion) benefit from a rub score of 40,000 or higher.  The rub score has now bearing on the cost of the fabric, simply its durability.​

  • Cost! (you are going to be needing anywhere from 6 to 10 metres of fabric)

    • Replacing/renewing your cushions is going to take a considerable amount of fabric as both top and bottom surfaces will need to be recovered, along with a gusset the depth of your cushion, plus seam allowances.  Upholstery fabrics do not need to cost a fortune however and a fabric that is £100 a metre is probably not going to fare any better than one that is £20 a metre, as long as the Martindale score is sufficient.​

 

As a very basic guide to the cost of replacing a dinette 120cm wide with cushions that would convert to a small double (2 120cm x 50cm x 10cm plus 2 120cm x 45cm x 10cm) would be:

 

Foam - approx £240

Fabric (assuming £20 per metre) - £180

Labour (2 hours per cushion plain, 2.5 hours per cushion piped) @ £20 per hour - £160 to £200
 

Total (Approx) £580 to £620.  This price is for guidance only and does not constitute part of a contract.