Bench seat – foam thickness.

[Nasher]

One of the jobs I want to do on my RIB this year is to tidy up the bench seat arrangement, and possibly cut down on the shear bulk of the base and backrest.

The current base and backrest arrangement is 1/2in thick ply well coated in preservative and 4in thick upholstery foam covered in Grey vinyl secured with stainless steel staples.
I made these @ 10yrs ago now and they are still fine, but actually quite heavy and bulky even though they are dry inside and not full of water.

I’m thinking of making both parts a few inches shorter, using a plastic board and thinner waterproof Closed cell foam.

Bearing in mind the functional nature of ‘The Nashers Revenge’, and my distain for White cushions with Blue piping, I might not even cover the foam at all. I’ll also make the whole thing fold away.

I understand 30mm of the Closed cell high density foam is probably going to weigh the same, if not more, than the current 4in of Upholstery foam, and also that it’s going to be expensive compared to normal or ‘Chipped’ foam. I also understand that it’s not recommended for household upholstery as it’s not Fire retardant.
But if nothing else should make some interesting noises when being sat on in wet wetsuits.

Has anyone any experience of this type of foam and can suggest what thickness would give enough comfort to passengers rear ends?

Thanks.

Nasher.

[The Black Pig]

Any more than three inches is too much for my rear end

[The Black Pig]

Originally Posted by The Black Pig

Any more than three inches is too much for my rear end

You let yourself wide open for that one

[gary222]

Bit hard to sit on?

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Nasher

One of the jobs I want to do on my RIB this year is to tidy up the bench seat arrangement, and possibly cut down on the shear bulk of the base and backrest.

The current base and backrest arrangement is 1/2in thick ply well coated in preservative and 4in thick upholstery foam covered in Grey vinyl secured with stainless steel staples.
I made these @ 10yrs ago now and they are still fine, but actually quite heavy and bulky even though they are dry inside and not full of water.

I’m thinking of making both parts a few inches shorter, using a plastic board and thinner waterproof Closed cell foam.

Bearing in mind the functional nature of ‘The Nashers Revenge’, and my distain for White cushions with Blue piping, I might not even cover the foam at all. I’ll also make the whole thing fold away.

I understand 30mm of the Closed cell high density foam is probably going to weigh the same, if not more, than the current 4in of Upholstery foam, and also that it’s going to be expensive compared to normal or ‘Chipped’ foam. I also understand that it’s not recommended for household upholstery as it’s not Fire retardant.
But if nothing else should make some interesting noises when being sat on in wet wetsuits.

Has anyone any experience of this type of foam and can suggest what thickness would give enough comfort to passengers rear ends?

Thanks.

Nasher.

hi Nasher
i bought a cushion for my dog in the boat off ebay waterproof cover they will make any size 1m x 800mm x 75mm £30 cant remember the company but not hard to find.
before i had shock seats Dave rose at riibquest made me some cushions for my jockey seats using different grades of closed cell foam they were really comfy on ply bases s/s staples

regards jeff

[jeffstevens763@g]

found it direct manufacturing 01132405815 chew resistant dog beds on ebay do seat cushions as well

cheers

[jyasaki]

I put 2" HD closed cell on my boat (the firmest I could find.) It's pretty stiff. I'd go medium density at the firmest, assuming you care about your passengers comfort (if not, well, why bother asking?)

Better if you can actually see and feel the stuff (I was working mail order.) A visit to an upholsterer's might be in order to test the different grades out.

jky

[Nasher]

Jeff

thanks for the heads up, something to investigate.

Jyasaki
That's interesting you found the HD too firm, I need to find somewhere that sells the stuff to have a feel(Ooeer), normal upholstery places just have open cell indoor foam.

Nasher.

[gary222]

Just a thought, when I made my seat I used a very firm reconstituted (chip) foam. Felt too hard on testing so I bored some holes through the bit where I sit using a sharpened bit of inch tube. Made it more flexible and a bit softer where it counts!This could work with closed cell foam too I guess?

[Low Flyer]

Try Mark at thefoamshop.co.uk he's very knowledgeable and helpful.


Sent from my iPad using RIB Net

[Ribbed41Pleasure]

I'm intrigued HD foam is being recommended? Am I right in assuming HD foam is very finely packed thus Dense foam? (hence the name!) As I was advised to steer away from this by my upholsterer as he said it retains water once it has penetrated the foam. Makes em heavy and they then rot. He advised and supplied a very open coarse foam that had a more plastic feel to the open gauze. His belief being the larger open gauze allows water through but does not retain it. I have to say he was right, they are light and never get heavy when drenched. And they have not shown any signs of going mouldy. Because it is made from a more plastic feeling material the overall thickness can be reduced. Mine are about 1.5inches thick, feel very supportive, but soft enough for bumps. In fact, having slept on the aft bench three times overnight, I can honestly say they are very comfortable . . better than many beds. They feel a bit like memory foam to sit or lay on.