Coaming pads, gunwale bolsters and side panels are the padded upholstery that lines the inside of the cockpit: the pieces you lean your thighs against while fighting a fish, brace against in a following sea, and grab when the boat drops off a wave. They are built like flat seats, a backing board with foam and marine vinyl over it, and they often take as much water, sun and abuse as the seats, or more.
On a center console they also make up a large share of what you see when you step aboard, so a fresh set of seats beside tired coaming pads looks unfinished. Here is how these pieces work and what to think about when you replace them.
What each piece is
The names get used loosely, so for clarity:
- Coaming pads and gunwale bolsters run along the inside of the gunwale, usually at thigh or hip height. Their job is comfort and protection: something soft to lean on, and a buffer between people and the hard edge of the hull.
- Side panels and liners cover larger areas of bare fiberglass on the cockpit sides, the console or a cabin, mostly for finish and comfort.
- Console and leaning post pads are smaller padded pieces on the console face, the leaning post or a T-top leg, often where people brace while standing.
- Bow and transom bolsters cushion the forward or aft seating areas and frequently fold, flip or lift out.
All of them sit on the same idea: a stiff backing, a layer of foam, and a cover.
The backing board decides how long it lasts
The part you never see is often the part that fails. The backing gives the pad its shape and carries the fasteners, and it sits in a place that gets wet constantly.
We build on three substrates, chosen for the piece and the boat:
- King StarBoard. A marine-grade high-density polyethylene sheet. King Plastic, its maker, states that it will not rust, delaminate or rot when exposed to UV, humidity or water. It is a strong choice for pads that live in spray and rain. King Plastic also advises that gluing to StarBoard is not recommended and that it should be mechanically fastened, so the cover is fastened rather than bonded to it.
- PVC. Light, water-tolerant and easy to shape.
- Marine-grade plywood. Still used, especially when matching an older factory part. Treated well it lasts years, but if water gets in and stays in, plywood can rot, and stripping an old pad sometimes reveals exactly that.
When we strip old pads and find a backing that is cracked, broken or rotten, we stop and tell you before going further, and any replacement is quoted separately in writing before it goes ahead. A beautiful new cover on a failing board will not last.
Foam and water
Coaming pads sit in the path of every wave that comes over the side and every hose-down at the end of the day. Water will reach the foam at some point. What matters is whether it drains or sits.
On full foam work we use reticulated Dry-Fast foam, which is open enough for water to pass through instead of soaking in and staying there. Paired with a backing that does not mind getting wet and a cover with somewhere for water to go at the bottom edge, the pad dries out instead of turning into a sponge. More detail in Marine foam explained.
How they mount
How a pad attaches matters for daily use and for cleaning.
- Snaps let a pad come off. That makes it easy to rinse the fiberglass behind it, dry the pad properly, or store it off the boat. The trade-off is that snaps are hardware in salt water and need to be marine grade.
- Fixed fasteners, screws through the backing into the hull or a mounting strip, give a tighter, more permanent look with no movement. They take longer to remove.
- Hidden mounts and tracks keep fasteners out of sight for the cleanest finish, and need careful planning so the pad can still be removed when it has to be.
We usually follow the factory method unless there is a good reason to change it, and if there is, we tell you why before we start.
Vinyl, EVA or carpet?
Most coaming pads and bolsters are upholstered in the same marine vinyl as the seats so the interior reads as one piece. But not every surface around the cockpit wants vinyl.
- EVA foam is a good choice for coaming and gunwale pads, helm pads and step faces on fishing-focused boats. It is closed-cell, sheds water and grips when wet. See our EVA decking page and EVA decking guide.
- Marine carpet suits hatch liners, locker liners and cabin sides, where softness and quiet matter more than wash-down. See our marine carpet page.
Why to redo them with the seats
Coaming pads and side panels age in the same sun as the seats beside them. If you replace only the seats, the new vinyl will sit next to old vinyl that has had years of UV, and even in the same named color they will not match. Exact matches across manufacturer dye lots cannot be guaranteed by anyone, and aged vinyl moves further away every season.
There is also a design reason. Piping lines, color breaks and quilting patterns look best when they carry from the seats onto the pads around them. Doing everything together is the easiest way to get that continuity. If the budget means splitting the work over two seasons, we can plan the full design at the start so the second stage matches the first. Our article on what makes a boat interior feel high-end covers why that continuity matters.
Coaming pads are also one of the best places on the boat for a boat name or logo, at eye level as you step aboard. See Logos on boat seats for the methods.
Thread, fasteners and the warranty
We sew these pieces with the same PTFE thread as the seats, SolarFix as standard and Gore-Tenara, and fasten covers with 316 stainless staples. Our warranty, from our Terms, reads: "two (2) year limited warranty covering failures in stitching, seam binding, and direct installation craftsmanship from the date of final delivery. This warranty is transferable: if the vessel is sold during the warranty period, the warranty passes to the new owner for the time remaining, measured from the original date of final delivery." Material warranties come from the manufacturers and we pass them through to you. Exclusions include commercial overuse, neglect, improper washing or cleaning (including harsh bleach or high-pressure washers) and general wear and tear. Full terms are on our Terms page.
Thinking about your coaming pads?
Send us photos of the pads, bolsters and panels as they are now, plus the seats beside them. We will price it from those photos and tell you plainly whether the backing boards look sound. Send us your photos.
Send us photos of the boat and we will price it from those.
Request a quote