Well, mattresses are not necessarily technology, but as this is an on-board job, we have decided to write a short article about our mattresses too.
As mattresses on board do not usually correspond to the standard size, but are usually customised, it is unfortunately not possible to simply replace them. You have the choice between customised yacht mattresses costing several thousand euros or you can opt for the cheaper option and make your own standard mattress.
As we had read reports about this in various forums, we decided in favour of the second option. We bought two Åkrehamn foam mattresses with memory foam from IKEA for €229 each. The mattresses are tightly rolled and shrink-wrapped when you buy them so that you can easily transport them in the car. When you unpack them, they pop open and you are supposed to leave the mattresses for 72 hours before using them for the first time. Our living room dining table was used as a storage space and we then carried out the rest of the work on it. A project like this is definitely easier to realise at home than on board!
Once the mattresses had fully unfolded, we started the customisation work. Firstly, we used the old mattresses as a template and marked the dimensions for the removable cover on the underside. Then the covers were removed and the actual mattress was also marked.
We were then able to cut the foam relatively easily, but with a certain amount of odour nuisance, using a long hot-cutting knife. We had to order the knife separately, but this will certainly make it easier for us to carry out one or two upholstery jobs on board in the future. It is advisable to do the cutting outside in any case. As a precaution, we also put on our masks from the coronavirus era. Nevertheless, the resulting vapours were quite pungent and certainly not too healthy.
After cutting the mattress to size, the foam was simply put back into the cover and the mattresses were left to air out for a few days. We abandoned our original plan to also rework the covers and sew off the excess material, as this would have meant cutting open a large part of the zip and re-sewing it. However, as the excess material can be easily wrapped up, you can only see on closer inspection that these are not the original mattresses. And on board, there is also a bed sheet on top.
After a week of airing, we brought the mattresses on board and luckily we didn’t measure ourselves roughly in any places. The mattresses look good and are now twice as thick as before. The first night in the new bed was great and we’re delighted that we can now spend the night on board in mega comfort and without straining our backs.
