Index

Forward Cabin Layout, Panache.

INDEX - Box Cushions, Backrests, Speakers & Pole Storage.

• Urethane foam is more expensive but outlasts and outperforms the cheaper stuff. 
• Memory foam is even more expensive and is the ultimate for sleep comfort.  As your body heats up the foam, it relaxes and you sink into it as it forms to your body, cradling you with uniform support and comfort.  It holds this shape till you move which is why it is called memory foam.  Great to keep you from rolling off when the hull rocks.  However, the absolute best mattress to keep you in place is a bean bag mattress in a bed box.  Unfortunately there isn't enough room on an SJ233 for one of these.
• Closed celled foam is warmer than open celled foam. 
• Closed cell foam floats and open celled foam sinks, although not immediately.  You never know when this will be needed. 

The top and front of Panache's cushions are covered with Olefin, a high quality, tough 1970s fabric that almost never wears out.  The bottom, back and ends of the cushions are covered with a high density water proof vinyl fabric.  I chose vinyl for the bottom so the foam couldn't wick up water.  This way the cushions stay put, don't wick up water and I stay dry through the night.  Been there, done that, don't need to do it again.  This has been a wise decision on more than one occasion!  I usually flip them over for meal time to protect the fabric from a spill.  Wiping up a spill on vinyl is easy.  There is a #4 vinyl zipper around the back for removing the cover.

As good as all this is, I'm looking for a fabric spacer to add ventilation under the foam.  I want to rid the foam of that clammy, damp feeling.  That moisture will eventually lead to mildew and stains that I'm not interested in.

Split the Cushion (2024) - My original design called for two cushions on the starboard settee so I could just slide stuff across to the other cushion to access the storage below.  Short cushions are also easy to pack away in the cabin for winter storage.  Unfortunately I ran short of Olefin, the top material, so was forced to make a long single cushion for the starboard settee.  On the flip side (no pun intended), the long cushion looks good and is comfortable to sleep on, hence my quandary in splitting this ~25 year old cushion.  But I'm really fed up with having to move stuff off the settee.  I now own a heavy duty Sailrite LSZ sewing machine, so here goes nothing!

1. The starboard cushion was split at the 1/3 portion.  The 2/3 portion will fit nicely under my upper torso so my bum doesn't bottom out at the split while sleeping.  The 1/3 portion will give me convenient access to the battery and primary circuit breaker below the settee. 
2. Cut lines were drawn across the fabric and the foam using a carpenter square while the cushion was still stretched with foam inside. 
3. The zipper slider was pulled to the long 2/3 cushion side.
4. The cushion fabric and zipper was cut using sharp scissors.
5. The foam was set on its side against a cabinet with the cut line ~1" past the corner of the cabinet.  Supported as such it was easy to saw down along the cut line using a Henkel serrated bread knife held at a shallow angle.  Use very light pressure to let the teeth cut, staying on the line.
6. The long cushion fabric was turned inside out and the open end of the zipper was stitched across to hold the slider captivate.  Then the pre-cut end panel was sewn on.  To complicate things I added a fancy zipper pocket to tuck the slider into.  Why not!
7. The long cushion was completed after I wrestled the foam back inside the cover.  Wow that's a job. 
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8. The zipper slider for the small cushion was moved to the larger cushion in step 3 above.  Restoring the zipper on the small cushion was problematic as the correct size slider for it is elusive around here.  For this reason I replaced the zipper plus the entire back and end panels of the cushion.  Sometimes a remake is the simpler solution.
9. The teak fiddles at the turn of the settee do a good job of keeping the cushions on the settee.  Adding one will be easy if needed. 

Helpful Videos - Watch one of these videos.  You might get more out of them than reading my description.
   Box cushion for the cabin.  Box cushion with piping for the cockpit,  Box cushion construction with excellent information. 
Material - Colour matching vinyl fabric to close off the cushion ends.  A 32" vinyl zipper for the short cushion. 

Starboard settee cushion split at the 2/3 point and still comfortable to sleep on.
I instantly realized that access to storage is quicker and easier.    TOP 

Backrests (2000) - The original factory backrests that covered each opening were made of 1/2" plywood covered with foam and fabric, stapled a zillion times at the back.  Just like the cushions, they looked very 1970'ish, so they had to go!  There was also a fiddle along the edge of the shelf to keep the stuff there when the boat heeled.  It was too low to be useful, so it had to go as well.
I wanted to create a unique backrest with a continuous flat finish so I replaced the whole works with a single sheet of 1/2" teak plywood with no breaks in the grain.  To restore the fiddle I carried the plywood to 3" above the shelf.  A jigsaw with a double cutting blade does an amazing job of cutting out the doors without tearing out wood.  The cut is glass smooth, and is perfect for this type of job.  I have seen a couple of SJ23s that didn't have access to the storage area behind the backrests.  This may have been the case on early SJ23s.  Each back rest door is held closed with a double roller catch similar to those used on kitchen cupboards in the 1950s.  They are a bit stiff to operate but then they have never opened with the boat heeled, so I see no need to replace them. 

Construction - The back rest door hinges are positioned at the bottom, level with the tops of the cushions.  Positioned as such an open door can flip down flat on the cushion.  I used stainless steel hinges, veneer for the edges and teak finger pulls in the holes to prevent splinters.  The finger pulls were expensive but they improved the appearance so much that it was worth it.  They also provide a bit of ventilation.  All the teak is coated with hand rubbed satin tung oil for a very durable, washable finish.  Now I have a smooth wall to sleep against and a slightly wider berth to lie on.  With my 5' 10" height I don't have quite enough headroom for sitting against the backrest.  So I slump a bit with a cushion behind my back.  This works OK for a while but I find it much more comfortable to sit upright against the bulkhead with my legs extended along the settee.  Perfect with a reading light under the overhang of the ceiling and arms length to the table for my coffee.  The cushions are also handy for those guests who are inclined to spend a little longer drinking their grog on a rainy day.  EVERY BOAT has its compromises! TOP

Speaker Enclosures (1995) - A peek at the photo above reveals a speaker installed in the top of the bulkhead.  This was done by one of the previous owners.  While I would never recommend cutting a 5" diameter hole into a load-bearing bulkhead, the plywood has shown no sign of fatigue.  I'm sure this has a lot to do with the fact that I smoothed the inside of the hole round to distribute the forces uniformly and saturated the wood with epoxy to strengthen it. 
When I bought Panache my two young sons were quite small and loved to poke sticks into everything, especially delicate speaker cones.  This prompted me to construct the speaker enclosure shown at the left which does triple duty as an "after dinner roll holder" and nightstand for anyone sleeping on the forward berth.  There is a slightly different design of a similar unit on the port bulkhead that stores a small fire extinguisher, mosquito trap and other sundry items.  The bug screen for the forward hatch now lies on the narrow shelf.  Both enclosures restore some strength to their bulkhead.  The cabin of a SJ23 is not a great acoustical chamber so I stuffed the inside of the each enclosure with fibreglass insulation to minimize reverberations and a small hole to let air pass for the speaker cone.  The speaker wires are hidden on the forward side of the bulkhead, right against the hull.  If I had to install speakers from scratch I would have chosen an enclosure on a mounting bracket on the aft side of the bulkheads.  They would be out of the way without compromising the strength of the bulkhead. 
NOTE: Unfortunately my late 1990s AM/FM/Cassette radio that used to drive these speakers has bit the dust.  The real beauty of this unit was that it retained the station presets during a power down (carbon slug tuner) and all I had to do was switch on the power.  Granted it doesn't have seek or scan, which would be nice, but I know the frequencies of the local radio stations which is a dying art these days!  There are times when I long for simplicity.  See Tech Tip E17.

Construction - Here is my original pencil sketch for building the speaker enclosures.  Please verify the measurements for your installation.  I used 3/8" thick solid oak to build the enclosures and Minwax cherry stain to match the teak.   TOP

Sleeping Bag Storage - I store a light polyester sleeping bag on the forward side of each bulkhead, one with a pillow in an old sail bag.  They are loosely stuffed in their bag to preserve the loft and stay bone dry to be warm at night.

Whisker & Mooring Pole Storage (1998) - Most pocket cruisers lack proper storage for whisker, spinnaker or mooring poles.  They are always in the way.  Another compromise?  The design on the right has served me well since I installed it.  No more stubbing my toes on deck!  Moreover, my son always knows where to find the mooring pole, which is usually his job.  The poles have never come off their hooks, regardless of how rough the water is and they never make noise.  They also double as a handy clothes-drying rack!  

Construction - To mount the hooks I installed a (1x2)" piece of teak with the top end wedged behind the roof liner and the bottom end wedged behind the teak fiddle on the ledge.  The back is shaped to match the curvature of the hull.  The teak is fastened with stainless screws at the top through the hull liner and at the bottom through the teak fiddle.  The J hooks that hold the poles are made from 1" wide stainless steel strapping that I bent into a 170⁰ curve with a 1.5" inside diameter. They are fastened to the teak straps with two screws to prevent turning.  I applied vinyl electrical tape on the inside of each J hook to protect the pole from scratching.  Leave sufficient space between the upper and lower J hooks to conveniently remove the lower pole. I suppose you could add a third set of hooks for a fishing rod but I thought this would make access to the narrow shelf difficult.  There is nothing wrong with installing a fishing rod holder on the port side though!   

This is a pretty clever way to store a telescopic mooring pole. Right where you need it most of the time.  Yup that is Panache in the background and yes you can still learn something from another boat.   TOP 
 

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