Lay down.

We went to a boat show last year that had this. It made me have wants. 

I decided it was time for our deck to have some lounging areas so I hoarded some JoAnn's coupons, bought some outdoor fabric, and broke out the old sewing machine. 

I kinda measured the deck and decided that two cushions butted up against each other between the grab rail was my best bet. Mainly because finding foam wider than that would be impossible or expensive. I also decided to make a couple cushions with backs that could lean up against the salon windows near the mast. This makes no sense? Okay, here.

The striped cushions were patterned "on site" and kind of just finagled into existence. They have a zipper so they can be washed. The blue ones were modeled after patio cushions I studied during a trip to Target University. I ended up having to hand sew a chunk of the blue ones since I had to sew the fold between the back cushion and the butt cushion. I'm sure if you inspected them you'd give them two sits at best, so don't do that. They're fine. And look at that gorgeous contrasting piping!

So far we only had one blue one blow off during a really gusty day in Catalina. It floated, so I grabbed it out of the water really quick and since it was outdoor fabric, the water rolled right off. I've since bought some of those Velcro cord wrap things, and I plan to sew them onto the seam to attach the striped cushions to the grab rail and the blue cushions to the mast or the vent or each other. Haven't decided what yet. When we're underway, the dinghy usually rides on top of them, which keeps them secure. 

I've noticed that the striped ones get condensation on them before the deck does in the evening, but other than that, it is awesome having a place to lay down and look up at the stars. When we're sailing, I like to cram myself on one of the blue ones and put my feet up on the dinghy and take naps. It's been great to have an extra place to hang out too, since only so many people comfortably fit in the cockpit. 

Thank you, boat show, for giving me such good ideas to steal!