Narrowboat Cushions and Foam Cut to Size
Replacement saloon, dinette, cratch and cabin foam, cut to your shape
Looking for replacement cushions for your narrowboat? We've been cutting foam for boaters for over 40 years. Saloon benches, Pullman dinettes, cratch boards, tapered cabin mattresses that follow the bow curve. All cut in our Bilston factory and posted free the next working day. The fiddly stuff is normal here. A chamfered back edge that follows the cabin side, the precise trapeziums that have to drop dead level so the dinette bed locks properly, the cratch cushions that need to cope with damp, condensation, and the occasional splash through a gap in the canvas.
Boat cushions take more punishment than most people realise. Damp on the cabin sides and condensation pouring off a porthole at seven on a February morning, the occasional drip from a leaky window or two people sitting on the same patch of foam every evening for years on end. Standard sofa foam can't cope with that environment. It sags, soaks, and goes off in a couple of seasons. The grades we recommend for boats are chosen specifically for those conditions, but they still feel like furniture rather than gym mats when you actually sit on them.
Springer, Hancock & Lane, Liverpool, Aqualine, Aintree. Doesn't matter what shell you're working with. Send us a template and we cut to it, newspaper works fine and so does the back of a roll of wallpaper, lining paper, even brown paper from a parcel, whatever you have to hand. If your existing covers are still good, you don't need new ones. Send us the empty covers and we'll fit fresh foam inside them through our cushion refill service. We do that for a lot of customers, particularly anyone whose marine-grade covers originally cost more than the foam ever would.
Common Narrowboat Cushion Applications
Saloon Bench Cushions
Our biggest single category for boat work. Most saloon cushions land somewhere between 1500-2000mm long, 500-600mm deep/wide, and 75-125mm thick. Almost all will have a chamfer on the back edge to follow the cabin side curve. Just pop the angle on your template or describe it in the order notes. Reflex grade for daily use is what nine out of ten customers go for. We'd back that as the default unless there's a specific reason to spec differently.
Dinette Cushions That Convert to a Bed
Trickier than they look. A Pullman or L-shape dinette is usually three pieces of trapezium shaped foam that have to drop down level for a guest berth, and the geometry has to be exact or the bed locks up wonky. Send us a template or drawing via email, of each piece. Newspaper or lining paper works perfectly. We cut all the sections from the same batch of foam so the firmness is consistent across the whole bed. If the dinette gets used as a bed several nights a week rather than just for the occasional visitor, step up to High Firm.
Cratch and Bow Well Seating
Lives outdoors most of the time, so the spec changes. Reflex with a polyester (Dacron) wrap copes best with damp and the odd shower, paired with waterproof piped covers from your chosen fabric supplier. Lifting the cushions inside when the boat's laid up makes a real difference to how long they last. We've seen cratch cushions go ten years where they're looked after, and three years where they're not.
Cabin Mattresses
Almost always tapered or asymmetric, following the hull curve at the bow or stern. We cut full bespoke patterns from your template at no extra cost. Most liveaboards prefer a Reflex foam base with a 25mm or 50mm memory foam topper. You get the comfort of memory foam without the heat retention that makes pure memory foam unpleasant in a cold cabin. Our mattresses and toppers page covers the off-the-shelf options if your shape is straightforward.
V-Berth Cushions
Less common on narrowboats than on cruisers, but they turn up in some traditional and tug-style stern conversions. Send a paper pattern of the cabin floor and we replicate it exactly. Full V or split V, either way.
Helm and Steerer's Cushions
Usually a small bolster, wedge or pad for the steerer's position at the back. Our bolster cushions work well for this, or a wedge cut from Reflex foam if you want lumbar support on long cruises.
Which Foam Grade for Which Job?
Three or four grades cover almost everything we cut for boats. Our full foam grades and types guide has the technical specs (density, ILD, the lot), but here's the short version.
Reflex Superior Firm. Our default for narrowboat work and what we'd recommend unless there's a specific reason to choose differently. Handles damp, holds its shape under daily use, suits saloon seating, dinettes used occasionally as a bed, cratch and bow well cushions, even most cabin mattresses on its own.
High Firm. Step up from Reflex when the cushion's doing more than it should. Dinettes used as a bed several nights a week, helm cushions where the steerer wants firmer support, liveaboard saloons where one piece of furniture is sofa, guest bed and second sofa rolled into one.
Memory foam topper. Use as a 25-50mm topper on top of a Reflex or High Firm base, never on its own. Pure memory foam is heat-retentive and goes hard when it's cold, both of which are bad news on a winter mooring. As a topper it transforms the comfort of a permanent cabin mattress without the downsides.
CMHR / Class 0 fire-rated. Required for hire fleet boats inspected under the Boat Safety Scheme for commercial use, MCA-licensed passenger boats, day-boat operators. We supply both grades with written compliance documentation. If you're not sure whether you need it, ring us with the boat's certification details and we'll tell you.
Fire Safety and What the Regulations Actually Say
For private narrowboats used by the owner and family, the relevant law is the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. All our furniture-grade foam meets it as a matter of course.
It's a different conversation if you're running a hire fleet, a day-boat business, or a licensed passenger boat. The Boat Safety Scheme inspections for commercial use, and the MCA's licensing for small passenger vessels, can require BS5852 Crib 5 (CMHR) or Class 0 fire ratings on cushion fillings. We supply both, with the certificates to back them up. Tell us what your boat's certified for and we'll point you to the right grade.
Boatyards, marine upholsterers and fit-out specialists can benefit from competitive volume pricing through our trade foam programme, along with a dedicated account contact for direct support and quotations.
Damp, Condensation and Making Foam Last
The biggest cause of foam deterioration on boats is not everyday use, but trapped moisture. A few simple maintenance habits can significantly extend the lifespan of your replacement cushions.
- Pick Reflex over standard polyurethane for any cushion that lives near the hull or in a damp cabin. The price difference is small, the lifespan difference isn't.
- Wrap cushions in polyester (Dacron) before fitting covers. It wicks moisture out, softens the cushion edge, and stops the foam getting that compressed-corner look after a year.
- Air the bases wherever you can. Slatted bases, ventilation slots in a plywood box, even a few drilled holes, anything to stop condensation collecting underneath.
- Stand cushions on edge during long absences, especially over winter. Two minutes of work, years of life added.
- Run the heating regularly through autumn and winter to keep the boat's relative humidity down. A briefly-warm boat is drier than a constantly-cold one.
- Replace mouldy covers, not just foam. If a cover's gone too mouldy, fresh foam in it will smell within weeks. The cover's the problem.
Technical Specifications
Material: Combustion-modified polyether polyurethane foam (Reflex, High Firm, CMHR grades)
Fire compliance: Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; BS5852 Crib 5 / Class 0 available on request
Common thicknesses: 75mm, 100mm, 125mm, 150mm (others available - just ask)
Bespoke cutting: Chamfered edges, hull-curve patterns and custom-cut to templates
Polyfibre wrap (Dacron): Recommended addition for any cushion
Lead time: Standard shapes next working day, bespoke patterns 1-3 working days
If you'd rather talk it through than work it out from a spec sheet, give us a ring on 0800-0439990. We've been answering boaters' questions for over 40 years and can usually sort the specification in a five-minute conversation. Or, drop us a line via the contact page and we'll come back to you the same working day.
