Salon furniture 43'DC

[mttopd]

I'm planning on getting new furniture for the salon of our 43DC. I've taken measurements of the door/hatch entry. We then went shopping at the local furniture outlets. Found that all couchs, sofas and sectionals seem to be built to roughly the same dimensions (with the legs removed), the backs being 26" or greater. The entry width is 24". I'm having trouble envisioning wrestling these in through this space. I've looked at photos of furniture in 43DCs on YW and they look like the normal household stuff we've been looking at. Just don't want to purchase something and have it not fit through the door. Am I worried for no reason. Don't want to buy custom built, that all looks too modern for my taste. Any experiences that could be shared would be appreciated.

Thanks, Brian.

 

[SeaEric]

Jennifer Convertibles sells a very basic queen sleeper (the varsity?) that should go in the door with the legs off. If you want it to fit on the aft salon bulkhead, the question is what space do you have from the stbd bulkhead to the entry stairs? I'm not sure it fits that direction.

I found it. Here's a link:

http://promotions.jenniferfurniture.com/promo_varsity_scatterback.php

In general, boat furniture is 3/4 scale. Most furniture vendors don't know what 3/4 scale is. There are suppliers, if you search the net, that sell sofas that the back comes off.

 

[Capt. Tobb]

Would a futon work for a couch? makes a nice bed too, plus you can wash the cover. Big Bill used them in his 58YF and they are nice. Most of them can be put together in place.

 

[Craig]

We put a Jennifer convertable on our 42c. It's the queen sleeper. I can say we are not very happy with it, as a bed it's terribly uncomfortable, as a sofa it's barely passible.

 

[kwerges]

Flexsteel Furniture makes some very nice stuff. Made for RV's and boats, the sofa/sleeper measurements were perfect for our 42C...

 

[holtcl]

We went through all this on our 44TC. Looked at Flexsteel and many boats use it but it is very expensive and in my opinion (I'll probably get in trouble here) sort of industrial looking.

At first I went with a World Market futon but it neither held up nor was comfortable; so that didn't last long.

I also priced out a custom loveseat like they are putting in the new Hatteras- very nice but super expensive.

If you take out your salon window frame you will have a much wider opening and this will provide you with more options. We were able to find a nice leather set: loveseat, chair, ottoman; that was both comfortable and is 'real furniture'.

It was not difficult at all to remove the window and re-caulk. You may also need to take a portion of the handrail from the bottom bracket so that you have clearance; but again this is not a huge deal.

Good luck!

 

[SeaEric]

I had "high dollar" custom-made-for-me Flexsteel sofas on my last 2 boats. I didn't think they were very comfortable. The Flexsteel barrel chairs IMHO are really bad. The seat depth on both is rather short which means that you're sitting more straight up rather than able to lean back.

Whatever you decide to buy, go sit in/on it first!

As far as sofa beds, none of them really work well in both applications.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

The P.O. our 43 had the couch and easy chair custom made and final assy, inside the boat, they are really comfy, overstuffed and soft, no labels so cannot help there. Suggest finding a custom upholstery shop and go from there otherwise you may end up frustrated with make do stuff....See, boats are like women,... the rigging costs more than the hull....

 

[bigbill]

as capt tobb said, i put two futons in my 58yf, they have the extra thick matresses, they are very comfortable to sit in, and i hear they are very comfortable to sleep on, but i cant say anything about sleeping, i sleep in THE BIG BED in the master stateroom. they are 4 years old and holding up great. bigbill

 

[RTyler]

Our 1979 43 DC original sofa completely disassembled such that we could easily haul it out the door. It is extremely heavy duty, and well built so we just had it re-upholstered and did some minor work to the legs. It looks like new and is holding up very well. Point being that you may want to think about just reworking your existing furniture.

 

[Mel Tucker]

We have been researching the same issue in preparation of refurnishing our 43 DC. I found a company here in North Carolina that specializes in furniture that can be disassembled and taken through a 15 inch door. I haven't had a chance to visit their showroom yet, so I can't tell you about the quality. They do have a web site and will send you a free catalog of their products. The company is Simplicity Sofas, Inc in Highpoint, NC Their telephone number is 800 813-2889. The best part is that it's American made....and today I try to buy American!

Mel Tucker/Taylor G
1976 43 DC

 

[jim rosenthal]

I agree. For what it's worth, I found an original Hatteras sectional at a boating flea market for fifty bucks- and then spent plenty to get it rebuilt and recovered, but it was worth it. Have you looked at boating consignment places etc? You might get lucky. I did.

 

[lumina]

Hi All,

I solved the size issue in a different way.

There's a company out there that sells hi-tech super strong/dense foam furniture. It looks and feels like real leather, it's very comfortable and easy maintenance and.....it's well priced.

They carry sofas, loveseats, chairs and ottomans. Here's the best part.......... a full size sofa is delivered vacuumed sealed in a 12" X 16" container. Once you cut the package open within a day you have a full size sofa..

They are meant to sit right on the floor but when I received mine I thought they were just a few inches to low so I made a platform for each piece. I took some 3/4" plywood and attached a 2" molding all the way around it. Then I added four 4" furniture legs. Once done the furniture sits snugly on the platform. (fyi I color matched the paint for the molding and legs to the furniture swatch).

I bought the set 3 years ago and it looks and performs like new. People mistake it for high end leather all of the time.

http://foamiture.com/category-1/14-sofas.html

 

[mttopd]

Thanks for the feedback on this, I knew I couldn't be the only one to have this problem. We looked at the Flexsteel furniture on their website and thought it was a bit expensive and not the style we were looking for. We also looked at fotons and have haven't ruled them out and the Jennifer convertibles were comfortable to sit in but we never really checked the mattress because size was an issue. I'll try Mel's suggestion and check that website. I've asked several of the sales people about furniture that can be disassembled/reassembled and they have no idea. Would really prefer a sleeper if I can find a decent one. Thanks to everyone for the help.

Brian.

 

[Trojan]

I have 2 cream colored leather Lazy-boy electric recliners that are up against the rear bulkhead of my salon on the starboard side. I have a queen size fold out cream colored leather sofa bed up against the port side between my ice maker/wet bar and the forward bulk head. The backs just pulled off the lower section of the chairs. I then just turned the chair bases on there side and pushed them through the door. The couch I removed and disassembled the bed inners to make it lighter so WE could handle it. The Door and trim moulding was removed from around the door. With a small amount of twisting, turning and a little pushing the sofa slid in.

BILL

 

[Bill Root]

We have a Flexsteel sectional sofa on our boat. We have the "no dinette" model. The sofa sits on the starboard salon wall ans cuves aroun d the aft bulkhead where the old sofa bed was. The seatback comes off, so it fits through the companionway easily. It's comfortable and looks great, but it was expensive; almost $2500 when purchased in 2003. Fortunately the PO paid that expense.

 

[Seas the Moment]

La-Z-Boy makes a great sleeper/couch. They use an air mattress with sleeper top and it is one of the most confortable beds I have ever slept on. It comes with a small 100V air pump. Quick to set up and take down. I have 2 of them. Sure beats the traditional sleepers with springs poking in the back

 

[boatwright]

try a high end rv dealer some of the larger modeles have moveable furnature and are made for smaller areas

 

[fissioneng]

I found Glastop in Pompano Beach which has some standard sectionals with storage or beds. Does anyone have any of their furniture? They have their own line (called Companion) as well as some well known manufacturers like Flexsteel.

I also found a residential product from Home Reserve. They ship the couches completely knocked down. You assemble them and it looks like they easily will go through any opening. Quite attractive price point too.

 

[Tim Powell]

You guys know these old hats came from the furniture capital of the world High Point NC; You may give that crowd a call at SAMS MARINE in RAMSURE N.C. If any one would know they would know the original supplyers maybee any way just a thought .
I was in Lowes A local building materials supplyer they had some deck furniture and some chairs which I am sure were imports which had a good look for a salon TIM