Man, I am just full of questions...

[markfitz]

One other thing that got bruised the last time out was my bony butt.  So now I'm trying to find some 1" closed cell foam or something to make some seats for the weekender.  I've checked a few online places, but I was wondering if anyone here has gone through this exercise already and can save me some trouble?  I thought about carving up a couple of yoga mats, but they're only about 3/8" thick and I was hoping for something a little thicker. 

[Barry Pyeatt]

For smaller stowable pads. Try the Kneeling pads for gardening.  They are just firm enough that they give you good support but are fine for sitting on hard seats.  They come in several sizes b ut you may have to look around for larger ones. 

Closed cell foam for upholstery work is available in a wide variety of sizes. Also verying densities.  Those used for cushions are about medium density as they are fairly thick.  An "Upholstery Foam" distributor will have the various types you are looking for.  Check The larger Fabric shops as well as the Upholstery shops who will be able to direct you or may have it onhand.  Some of the "home improvement" stores may still have summer furniture pads instock. Some of them are fairly thin but firm.

[lewisboats]

http://www.closedcellfoams.com/

particularly...:

Gymnastic Rubber: Similar to Ensolite, its durable, flexible and resilient closed cell foam with a medium feel. Its squishy characteristic makes it great for exercise mats, camping pads, boat cushions. Excellent for use in leisure, marine/flotation, industrial and automotive applications.

[wkisting]

This may not be the solution you have in mind, but I really like the West Marine "Go Anywhere 2" seats. If you find them on sale (usually around the 4th of July or other major holidays), they can cost as low as $25 per seat; otherwise, they have a slightly steep regular price of something like $45, I think.

Although that is not cheap, what I really like about them is that they sit totally flat for use as a boat cushion (about 3' long x 18" wide when laying flat), but they have an adjustable frame built in so they can fold up to support your back like a chair (with no legs, though) that is ideal for relaxing on a beach or around a campfire. The fabric coating is heavy duty and the padding is about 2" - 2.5" thick for a soft cushioning feel.

We bought two of these for our CS20, so I can have one pad on each side when I sail solo, OR one for me and one for my wife when she comes along, OR both pads can be laid out end-to-end to make a long padded place for someone to lay down and nap, OR for two people to recline on a beach. Very useful.

[markfitz]

Barry, that's what we're using now, but they're small, and when you have to move quickly, you lose track of them, so we wanted to just be done with it and make something the full length of the seats.  I saw one weekender that had cane seats -- now that's thinking ahead. The west marine ones sound good except they are a bit too wide and short. Lewis, thanks for the link. That wasn't one of the sites I was on, because I was looking for something I think called flotex and they didn't seem to have it.  If the gym stuff will work, I think they might be able to cut it pretty close to the right size/shape.  Summer furniture pads might be a good idea too, never thought of that one.

[markfitz]

Just to close this thread, I went to Target and purchased two Embark premium exercise mats in grey.  They are squishy closed cell foam with a smooth skin and they are a little over a half inch thick.  They are 70" x 24" so you can carve one up pretty nicely to make both a seat and a seat back for the weekender.  They were $24.00 each.  A little pricey but still cheaper than I could custom order from any of the foam places.  Thanks for the help.  I'll let you know how they work next time we get out.

[hokeyhydro]

Best ever - the G-Pad foam used under synthetic football field turf.