Couch Comfort

Okay, the single best improvement I've made so far. The couch….

Anyone familiar with boats can tell you that manufacturers don’t exactly put a lot of effort into creating comfortable seating down below. And Bayfield owners do not escape this unfortunate problem. Some of it is due to compromises, lets face it, how do you make a seat that makes a good bed, a good sea berth, a comfortable upright position for sitting at the table, and a lounging position for relaxing. You can’t… Well, maybe some kind of lazy-boy, but then how do you put something that big in a little boat.

On our Bayfield 29, the seats(settees on a boat), were shallow front to back, and had a steep back on them. Fine for eating dinner at the table, but very uncomfortable for sitting any longer than that. Then, the back swings up on hinges and locks in the upward position providing a wider area for sleeping, all the way to the hull. Large beds (berths on a boat), indeed, but really wasted space.

As we are going to be living on board, with both of us having back issues, and the potential to be stuck down below for longer than the dinner hour, we needed somewhere comfortable to lounge. On the Bayfield 29, the seats are also used as beds, so that needed to be taken in consideration.

The finish product was a 25” berth, a 21” couch, properly sloped back, a comfortable place to sit, and a great place to sleep, as I found out last night. In fact, I am sitting on it right now while I write this in complete comfort, drinking my morning coffee.

Procedure:

1. Remove and discard the lift up back.
2. Cut the 2” lip off of the shelf that extends out to allow the back of the seat to be lifted up.
3. Spend a inordinate amount of time trying to figure the most comfortable angle for the back cushion, allow enough space for the bed, and work within the confines of the existing space. I mentioned compromise earlier, right!
4. Once I had it all figured out, I made the new back and installed that, complete with large openings for stuffing things behind. Never enough storage on a boat.
5. Extended the base of the couch as far as the existing cabinetry in the boat would let me.
6. Cut cushions from existing cushions, since we went from 4 beds to 2 during this refit.
7. Covered them with our new upholstery fabric, (that we got for $5 a yard, sweet).
8. And tada…..   only 20 hours of work or so.

But man is it comfortable. I don’t imagine it will make a good place to sit at the table, at least not without lots of cushions behind. I am not yet done trimming it out, staining,  making covers for the storage access ports, or installing lee cloths. But that’ll come in time. For now I am just going to enjoy the small little success.

 I brought the kick plate out as far as I could while still keeping it inside the door frames on either end. Added over 5" of space on the aft end, and 1 3/4" on the forward end. Also gave us a little extra storage down low. I'll have to put some canvas covers on the holes after everything is all stained up and the trim is on.

The cushion covers look a little loose. The foam was not the right size for the berth, close, but not perfect, so I made the cushions covers to fit the seat, in case I replace the foam. After all, they are 30 years old. Plus, I had intended to cover the cushions in a layer of quilt batting to increase the comfort of the seats, but I like it just the way it is. Of course there is the irritating fact that the fabric, although nice, is a bitch to sew. The top is a little fuzzy, so it slips in the machine, where the weaved back does not. I tried everything on my machine but could not compensate for the slippage. I guess I'll just have to keep that in mind when I do the rest of the cushions.

By the way I started sleeping with the back cushions in place, last night, and although it would do in a pinch, taking them off and gaining the extra 4” was invaluable. Mind you I am rather large guy, 6’1”, 230 lbs, so I need a little more space than some. For a proper sea berth, the experts call for 22”, so the 21” with the back cushions would probably be better for most folks, but now we have the option, and can quickly change it depending on which crew member is off watch.

TTFN