“It’s a shame that our bench seats don’t match our new saloon cushions,” I said as I placed a dish in the rinse sink.
“What?”
“The bench seats. They are a different colour of leather.”
“I had completely forgotten about them.”
“We should let Calvin know. Can you send him pictures? And ask him how much he would charge us to do the bench seats in the four bedrooms.”
Old Bench Seat and Crusty Foam Inserts
The bench seats below each bed consisted of a rectangular bottom and a rectangular top affixed with Velcro to the fiberglass back. They had been a comfortable place to sit beneath each bed. But lately, they seemed like an afterthought. Covered in beige leather, the seats had become sluggishly chic, like a pair of worn-out macrame plant hangers with the beads chipped off.
Beneath the leather exteriors, the inner foam had an outer crust that belied its age. The corners crumbled. If the foam was memory foam it remembered being folded and pushed into a bow locker.
Malaysia: A Place for Renewal
After traveling through remote places in the South Pacific, Malaysia was the first place we had been to that offered an opportunity to address our upholstery issues.
Finding Brother Lim Cushion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (and meeting Calvin)
Upholsterers near Pangkor Marina were overbooked, and charged prices suited to retired Australians, who formed most of their clientele.
Stumbling upon Brother Lim was fantastic. Rick was in Kuala Lumpur and met with Calvin Hong. In short order, we were in the workshop examining leather samples.
Yellow Shirts at the Hive of Brother Lim Cushion, Founded in 1972
Brother Lim is a sprawling establishment that speaks to a generational sort of history. Entering their workshop is entering a land of heavy materials and foam. Swatches hang like odes to past projects. Spools of thick thread line the walls, and men in yellow Brother Lim shirts lean over tables cutting fabrics or sit in front of industrial sewing machines, their faces focused with intent as strong lights illuminate their gaze.
It’s the kind of place where old chairs sit half-dressed while a steering wheel stands pertly in a corner.
Leaving the workshop, we crossed the road to the Brother Lim storefront. Women sat stitching suitcases, and one woman held a stitch ripper. She gave us a slight smile before continuing to rip out a zipper.
Choosing a Leather Colour
Calvin brought out the leather samples that he had shown Rick previously. They had narrowed down our choices to cocoa, coffee and amber. It was hard to choose. We peered at the leather and compared them with our recollection of our interior. I liked the dark colour. Rick liked the brighter tone. It complicated matters that the colour of the leather was variable, depending on the lighting at the time the photo was taken.
Turns out, our indecision on colour was fortuitous. It bought us the time to conclude that we needed bench seats. We left his office conversing about leather tones, eventually picking the lighter brown: ARN 4256.
Choosing a Thread and Seam Finish
Meanwhile, Calvin prepared a quote and raised the issue of thread. For a boat, the thread would have to have UV qualities. He suggested several options.
We didn’t like these colour options. To get a closer colour match that was also UV- and mildew-resistant, we needed to source the thread from the USA. This would take some time to order and would delay the completion date but we felt it was worth the wait.
At the same time, Calvin showed us various finishing options for the seams. We opted for a top-stitched seam for strength and presentation.
A Comparison of Seams
The Truth about Leather
“I was thinking I’d like to use the remaining leather for a piano bench seat,” said Rick.
Calvin replied, “I can’t tell you exactly how much leather we’ll have left over. It all depends on the size of the skins or if they are blemished.”
“What? How?”
“Well, you know, sometimes the skins have tattoos.”
His stark comment struck me much like the sight of raw meat in this country. In fact, in many countries, meat is sold looking pretty much like the animal from whence it came.
I imagined my couch running around in a green field with a name like Clarabelle, or Florrie.
More Work for Brother Lim
But as quickly as the notion came, it went. In short order, we sent our entire saloon cushion set to Brother Lim Cushion in Kuala Lumpur. Calvin’s questions gave us confidence that he knew what he was doing and that we could expect a quality finished product.
Our cockpit cushions, for example, had been basically flattened by years of use. We could all use new mattresses; they were disintegrating.
Returning to Pangkor Marina, Rick and I found ourselves discussing other upholstery possibilities.
For example, we had some work to do with our cockpit enclosure – fiddly stuff that was beyond the capabilities of my Sailrite sewing machine.
A local shop would have been easier but we liked Calvin’s confidence, and clear understanding of our project.
“Do you think we could move the boat to Klang?” I asked. “Calvin said it would be better for his team to visit the boat from a measuring perspective.”
“We can send him the measurements ourselves.”
Rick
The curves of the cockpit cushions seemed to enclose me in an area of arched smiles. The corner ones were particularly taunting.
Tucked away in my corner was Cindi from Sailrite whose DIY Video called “How to Sew a Curved Seat Back Cushion” made it look deceptively easy. She is the same woman who can pattern and sew dinghy chaps in about three hours. In answer to that question people sometimes ask – “If you could meet anyone at all from the present or past, who would it be?” for me it would be Cindi, and I’d ask her to pattern my cockpit cushions.
Next blog post in the Upholstery Series: (This series is a work in progress. More to come soon.)
Becoming a Sailor 