Does your boat smell? Have boat halitosis? Do you come off the boat and people take a whiff and look at you funny? Dreaded boat smell. At one point I was told to live with it. Boats Smell. I didn't want to be condemned to boat smell if this is my home. The hunt was on to get at the moldy stuffiness. Here's what I'm doing to minimize boat smell starting with the least expensive options. I've got it on the run...
1. Get fresh air flowing through the boat as often as possible.
Whenever I can.
2. Take out, wash or dry clean any old, mildew-y fabric (e.g., curtains, cushion covers, bedspreads, blankets, pillows, etc). Marine canvas seems to really hold on to smells.
Yup. If you follow this blog you'll read Read more [...] 
Smelly Stuff – Getting Smells Out of Fabrics
Does your boat smell? Have boat halitosis? Do you come off the boat and people take a whiff and look at you funny? Dreaded boat smell. At one point I was told to live with it. Boats Smell. I didn't want to be condemned to boat smell if this is my home. The hunt was on to get at the moldy stuffiness. Here's what I'm doing to minimize boat smell starting with the least expensive options. I've got it on the run...
1. Get fresh air flowing through the boat as often as possible.
Whenever I can.
2. Take out, wash or dry clean any old, mildew-y fabric (e.g., curtains, cushion covers, bedspreads, blankets, pillows, etc). Marine canvas seems to really hold on to smells.
Yup. If you follow this blog you'll read Read more [...] 
Here's some tips for making a duvet cover for your boat.
1. Look at the shape of your mattress and find the closest standard size to start. We are fortunate that our mattress on board is pretty close to a full size. The foot cuts in a bit but not too much. The chart will help determine the amount of fabric needed. You may want to take the boat mattress and make a pattern out of brown paper or an inexpensive shower curtain that way you can account for any odd angles. Allow about 12"of overhang depending on how deep your mattress is, how much space you have on the side of the berth or if you are going to tuck the coverunder the mattress. (You see that a lot on those big fancy yachts!)
NOTE: The above chart is for one side. 
Originally published as a guest post on The Boat Galley, February 20, 2013
What linens do you need to provision for use in the galley, clean up, and dining? While you can buy linens, they may not be exactly what you want or your style. It's not hard to make your own linens for your boat. Besides it's a great way to save some money. Practical and self-sufficient. That's the essence of being a Seamless Sailor. Here is a checklist eight types of linens that every Seamless Sailor should consider having in inventory.
1.. Kitchen towels - I like to have plenty of these - a fresh one every day or so depending on how much cooking we are doing. Any inexpensive bar or kitchen towel will do. No need to use paper towels all the time. 
Piping requires extra time. No doubt about it. But it is one of those things in life that is worth the extra effort. It really makes my pillows and duvet look almost professional. The captain requested matching piping on the duvet - one way to get a perfect color match. I grumbled at the work. Piping for a queen sized duvet is measured in miles, not feet. But I took the time to make it. Luckily the fabric had some give making a bit easier to work with. I hate it when he is right, which is most of the time. It looks great. It wasn't that hard either.
Making custom piping - I used a cotton cording 12/32". The strips of fabric were 2" wide as long as I could make them. I sewed the sections together at right angles 
Pillows are an easy sewing project. They can be very simple or dressed up a bit. Where would you want to add a bit of color and comfort?
Start with your pillow form. What size do you want? 14" is small but cute. 20" is a good larger size. Maybe you want some in between or odd sizes? Joanne's Fabrics and Sailrite offer nice pillow forms. Do you have serviceable pillows you could recover? Or do you want a pillow sham that you can stuff with extra linens or clothes? The captain requested one pillow cover for storing his down coat. What about a pillow made of old sailcloth for cockpit lounging?
Are you going to sew in the pillow form or make a cover that you can take off easily? You can easily make an envelope-style pillow 
I really dislike wrinkles in my bed sheets. A lot. The captain thinks it's a bit funny considering I'm not as much of a neat freak as he'd like generally. But when it comes to the sheets, I don't mess around. And what a pain to make a boat bed only to be left with a mess as you crawl off the mattress when you are done. Even with our center line aft berth you still have to crawl around to make up the head of the bed first not much easier than the v berth. (Or some mornings make the bed while you are still in it.) Some say let it be. You're on a boat. Who cares? Well this boat is my home when I'm there. We make the bed at our land-based home every day so why not on our boat home too? Having a comfy, nicely made bed is a nice