I traced the drop-in hatch onto a piece of 3/8 plywood and cut it out . I had to sand the edges some to make it slide in the track .
I then took the plywood hatch and cut it into boards , 4 of them . These boards are so much easier to stow and deal with in general .
I am thinking about making another set with large holes and screen . Take screen material and sandwhich it between plywood with holes drilled with the holesaw.
I would then have a solid door for security , and a screen door for bugging times .
Anyone else tried this ? Is there a downside to it ?
I've made a new hatch out of a panel that has a plastic core sandwiched by aluminium each side ... very light, I made it in three pieces for easy storage, I've looking to make a set of screened panels that I can interchange any or all of the solid panels when needed.
I've used the same panel material to make slip on doors for each fuel locker.
I had my Dad build me a three-piece wooden hatch insert. And there are two middle sections...one with screen...one without. I have only used them once. Maybe this Summer I will give them some more use.
At the same time he built me a new table with lifting top. It works great.
I made a new hatch by having a sheet of 3/16 smoked acrylic cut to the outside dimensions of the hatch. I could get it in many shades, but chose a darker brown.
After discussing the price with the vendor, it only cost me $15 more to have them make a horizontal cut about 17" from the bottom. That allowed me to mount a small window A/C on a starboard stand I built. The starboard closed off the side spaces by the A/C, then I slip in the top acrylic part. It lets nice light in, cuts down on the direct rays, and seals the hatch so the A/C can do it's job.
Later, I plan to make a screen for the lower or upper part (or both) for the "not hot enough for the A/C" times.
The best ideas always come three days before a cruise. Made with 1/4" luan exterior, pine board interior, plastic screen from Home Depot, SS screws & finish washers. After four years, the original seven coats of varnish on the exterior looks great, while the untreated interior is home to mold stains. The next version will be better wood, three panels for easier storage, and window panels to interchange with the screens.
captronr wrote:I made a new hatch by having a sheet of 3/16 smoked acrylic cut to the outside dimensions of the hatch. I could get it in many shades, but chose a darker brown.
After discussing the price with the vendor, it only cost me $15 more to have them make a horizontal cut about 17" from the bottom. That allowed me to mount a small window A/C on a starboard stand I built. The starboard closed off the side spaces by the A/C, then I slip in the top acrylic part. It lets nice light in, cuts down on the direct rays, and seals the hatch so the A/C can do it's job.
Later, I plan to make a screen for the lower or upper part (or both) for the "not hot enough for the A/C" times.
Ron
Could you (if you haven't done so already) please post pictures of this mod? It sounds really great. Thank you.
Thanks for the modifications link !
Thats what I love about this forum !
I cut ours into 4 boards for easy handling and stowage .
I like the idea of building a dedicated rake under the table for stowage .
We are planning to also build some screen boards to replace the solid boards , when needed.
The screen boards will be a layer of wood , then screen , then another layer of wood .
The holes will be drilled with a hole saw.
K9Kampers wrote:....while the untreated interior is home to mold stains.
A little oxalic acid will kill that mold and remove the stain... afterward you might re-stain it with an oil-based stain and then apply some varnish to protect it.
Just make sure any storm board replacement you do is strong enough to do its job - stop a freak wave from filling the cabin when in the rough stuff. I did a plywood replacement but decided it wasnt strong enough to keep the water out in an emergency, and so went back to the orginal.
I did end up making a nice fly screen out of those bits of wood though. I did it different than most people in that I just had a piece of ply at the top about an inch or so wide and the same at the bottom and then have rope sewen into the sides with fishing line. Easily rolled up and stored behind the galley. The rope means that you can either push it into the storm board slots or have it loose as a flap you can lift up to pass the steaks through.
Wish you could post photos on this site without the need for a third party site...........
Paul, why don't you put your screen idea up as a mod. That way, your pics are uploaded to the site and archived here. You can then link to them direct, if you wish. As to why you cannot put your pics directly into a post, it is a matter of storage and bandwidth, both of which cost money.
I'm not sure why some folks object to using a third party site for hosting photos. Regardless of where you put them, they still have to be uploaded. The advantage of the third party sites, is that you only have to do it once. Also, you can give the links out and not post the pics at all. The disadvantage, is sometimes folks move their pics around, or delete them. This breaks the links that they used in prior postings. This is why we encourage you to get your important postings into the Mac Mods section, or into the Features sections, where the pics are archived locally on this server.
Some years ago I built a 3 plank washboard set from 3/4" exterior ply, with side edges reduced in thickness to slide in the guides on our 2001 X, top and bottom edges beveled to shed rain, painted white.
Eventually the edges of the surface plys weather checked, so I made a second set of 3 dropboards of 1/4" black/dark grey acrylic. Boards are reinforced at top and bottom edges. Top board is transparent tho tinted, for cabin illumination and visibility out of cabin.
Both sets work well, tho the second looks better, needs no painting and is lighter to stow.
Ron
