"frosty" asked:
Would like to upholster the top of a cooler to put on
my boat. Have seen coolers with matching top cushion
on new boats, but mine is five years old.

Have a matching piece of vinyl from a replaced sundeck
cushion that is plenty big enough. Local upholstery
shops have no experience covering the top of a cooler,
and the marine retailers don't know from upholstery.

Anybody ever done this?

Any suggestions on a cooler to purchase? Plastic?
Metal?

Techniques for covering the top, while still allowing it
to close and seal properly?

Brian D replied:
No problem. First make sure that the top of the cooler is strong
enough to carry someone's bum without breaking down. If you need
to, you can through-bolt a layer of plywood on it to give it
strength. The cushion just needs to be the right dimension, then use
stick-back Velcro on the top of the cooler and the matching pieces
stitched onto the bottom of the cushion. 3 long strips will hold it
almost too well ...
Brian

Thanks, Brian, I like this idea, because it doesn't actually involve
upholstering the cooler, just a seat cushion to sit atop said cooler.
Imagine we would _glue_ the "vel" part of the Velcro to the top of
the cooler, then _stitch_ the "cro" part to the bottom of the cushion.

I was thinking to make the plywood the bottom of the cushion,
and bolt the entire assembly through the top of the cooler, but
your idea makes more sense. Not a big deal if I ruin a cooler,
but I've only got one shot with the fabric.

--
frosty