matress manufacturers who will make a very high quality inner spring matress <snip> We weren't happy with our original matress, either, but before spending significant dollars on a custom made one we went to a local foam shop (happens to be an "Army/Navy surplus store") and bought a piece of 4" thick open cell foam sized slightly larger than the original matress. We then used the original matress as a template and traced out the shape on the foam with a Sharpie pen. Five minutes with an electric knife and we had an "exactly" match- ing shape. We put the new foam on top of the old matress, and put the fitted sheet on top of both of them. The difference in comfort is dramatic! I know that open cell foam may absorb moisture over time, and may fail at some point not too far down the waterway, but it only cost less than $60, and was very easy to fold in half to gain access to the master cabin. So far...so good. Bob Foss bfoss@tri-lakes.net Nostrum Again 37' Newburyport DC

Bob makes a good point about replacing foam. I had the foam inserts on the settee seats and backs replaced last year. Had several choices of foam density, and choose a medium density foam with an extra layer of fiberfill wrapping around it. What a difference it made! My bun-bone (can't remember the proper term) used to sink right down and bottom out (so to speak) on the wood underneath. Now it doesn't. Foam does wear out over time. I've also noticed that the foam mattresses in the V-berths are still fairly rigid - obviously those berths aren't used very often. Bob Foss wrote: > > We weren't happy with our original matress, either, but before spending > significant dollars on a custom made one we went to a local foam shop > (happens to be an "Army/Navy surplus store") and bought a piece of 4" thick > open cell foam sized slightly larger than the original matress. We then -- Bob McLeran rmcleran@ix.netcom.com M/V "Sanderling" Docked at Point Patience Marina Hailing port: Wianno MA Solomons, MD Hampton 35 Trawler