Securing hatches

[Ian Hand]

I am just completing the fit out of my nb ( D day is 1st July) and would be grateful for ideas on securing rear sliding hatches from inside, ie; at night. I have seen some owners padlock the rear from outside and then use the front doors but I would prefere to exit through the rear, even for the saftey issues of fire etc.

[DHutch]

Is this a trad stern then? (sliding top/door)

 

We have a wheel house at the back of our boat, which has two sets of doors, the outer wooden ones, and the steel one to the rest of the boat.

- The steel doors are padlocked from the outside with a harsp and staple and is the secure door.

 

 

 

Over night we dont lock eather door, and dont put the steel top on.

- And ive the weathers good we usally leave the wooden doors off altogether.

 

 

Daniel

Edited June 16, 2005 by dhutch

[gaggle]

if you feel you have to lock your self in i think in property ,b&b accommadation and the likes have a rule about 1 hand opening for safety. it means that your exits have to be capable of opening useing one hand only. i would check this out for the boat.a good builders merchant or specialist lock shop could give advice.anyone else dont lock yourself into a coffin.DONT FORGET SMOKE KILLS

so fit and use alarms. this is good advice from someone who was very very lucky.

i would also call at any fire station,they will be more than happy to give you advice,they may even be happy to visit the boat and give advice.dont worry that they could make you do extra work,they will just give you good advice.gaggle

[Alan Saunders]

. . . We dont lock up when where aboard,

- just close the doors to from inside and leave them unlocked.

23405[/snapback]

Me too; when it's very hot I leave the orrs wide open all night.

Edited for spelling . . . orrs=doors, spelling checker missed it, what is an orr?

if you feel you have to lock your self in i think in property ,b&b accommadation and the likes have a rule about 1 hand opening for safety. . .

23408[/snapback]

My doors, front and back, have bolts top and bottom. The top bolt at the rear locates in the sliding hatch, there is also a bolt at the forward end of the hatch. So, one-hand operation but two bolts forward and three aft. In either case one bolt will give minimal security.

 

When leaving the boat unoccupied the rear hatch is bolted inside and secured by a padlock onto the doors outside, same for the side hatches. Exit is then from the front doors which, having no sliding hatch, are easier to make secure. It is usually possible to get the bow closer to the bank than the stern so a front exit can be easier. Currently bow is an easy step from the bank but the stern is 8' out!

 

Depending on your attitude to security and the locations you may moor in you may wish to add security bars, horizontal or vertical. I posted a reply with a drawing of a vertical bar design a few months back but I cannot find it.

 

Alan

Edited June 16, 2005 by Alan Saunders

[DHutch]

Me too; when it's very hot I leave the doors wide open all night.

Yeah, by grandad always leaves the side door next to his bed open in summer (its in the corroidor between the bedroom and the galley)

 

 

Thinking about the locking of a tard stern type arangment, from this inside.

 

- You could just have a staple on the inside of one of the doors, an hasp hanging down from the inside, welded to the sliding top? (you have to make sure it cleared with the top in the open possition)

 

- I dont think the BSS states anything about onehanded operation, and outwards opening doors etc. As this only applys to public spaces etc.

 

- That said, you do want something you can open in a hurry. At home we leave the keys in all the doors (on the inside) so that if we need to leave in a hurry we just need to thow the lock and run. (specking from somone who was also very close witha fire)

 

 

Daniel

[dor]

When leaving the boat unoccupied the rear hatch is bolted inside and secured by a padlock onto the doors outside, same for the side hatches. Exit is then from the front doors which, having no sliding hatch, are easier to make secure.

This is more or less what I did when I had a semi-trad. One thing I would never never do is lock the hatch from the outside while I was in the boat. The thought of a fire on the boat and not being able to get out is frightening.

 

We now have a cruiser stern, so exit the boat from the stern, and the front doors are bolted and padlocked from the inside. The first thing I do when I get to the boat is unlock the padlock.

[gill]

We have always had a household security door chain fitted to our rear doors. you can leave the doors ajar at night for some air but the doors will only open a few inches, push and slide off the chain and you can exit easy.