Damaged cushion fabric

[Ken Krawford]

I went up to check on my boat today and discovered that something (probably a mouse based on the droppings I found) had chewed a hole in the corner of one of the cushions in the main salon.  The boat is an 1988 model and the fabric has faded slightly over the years.
Short of recovering or replacing all the cushions, does anyone have a solution for me?

PS - The boat is for sale so I'd rather not put a huge amount of money into this but obviously it will have to be fixed.

[Ron Hill]

Ken : Try taking the damaged cushion to a seamstress.  See if they could take a small strip of material out of the underside and replace it with strip with Naugahyde.  Then use that material to repair the corner hole.  A thought.   

[Susan Ray]

Ken, Hope you found the mouse (or else fed it) as it will soon start eating wires and hoses......

[Jim Price]

Ken, several questions:  First did you ever catch the "beast"?

Second, how do you think it got into the boat to start with?  Do you think we have a problem at the marina and rats are using the dock lines for access?  Have you heard of any other incidents; I heard about this through another source but don't know if they were talking about your boat.

I am really interested in how it got inside more than anything. 

And I agree with Ron's suggestion about trying to use a piece of the under-cushion for repair.  Actually, you might consider using a piece of the short aft berth bench cushion as another source for the material.  That one does not get seen very often.  Guess that would also depend on how the colors match up.  Just a thought.   

[Ken Krawford]

Jim,
I don't know how it got inside.  I put some steel wool inside a baggie and stuffed it in the 2 scoops near the transom (bilge blower vent).  I just noticed the intrusion on Sunday and put traps out Tuesday.  I'll be back this weekend to see if I've caught anything.  I'll keep you posted by email.
Ken