Sandra F Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Our recently acquired boat, a Liverpool Boat, has what I assume is a perfectly standard sliding steel hatch, which scrapes on top of steel channels. Which are exposed to the weather, and, of course, when scraped, the paint is removed, and it rusts in full view - there has to be a better way by providing a non-rusting running strip. Who has done what, please ? Barry F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGoldy Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Our recently acquired boat, a Liverpool Boat, has what I assume is a perfectly standard sliding steel hatch, which scrapes on top of steel channels. Which are exposed to the weather, and, of course, when scraped, the paint is removed, and it rusts in full view - there has to be a better way by providing a non-rusting running strip. Who has done what, please ? Barry F Brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbo Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Brass? I've never seen them made of anything else. Certainly never painted steel! Gibbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Brass gets my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schweizer Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) I've never seen them made of anything else. Certainly never painted steel! Gibbo The slide runners on our boat were indeed painted steel when we bought it, and the 4ft slide was very difficult to move when everything was wet. One of the first jobs I did was to screw brass strips onto the painted steel and build a new slide with Rosewood blocks fitted to the underside. The immediate improvement in operation was very noticeable. Edited September 6, 2009 by David Schweizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb Innisfree Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Brass or s/s strips with stick on felt pads on underside of hatch? veery smooz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furnessvale Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 I've never seen them made of anything else. Certainly never painted steel! Gibbo The restaurant boat I steer has strips of plastic, or possibly PTFE which are nice and slidey. Unfortunately in very hot weather the differential expansion makes them buckle like a ploughed field! George ex nb Alton retired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Our recently acquired boat, a Liverpool Boat, has what I assume is a perfectly standard sliding steel hatch, which scrapes on top of steel channels. Which are exposed to the weather, and, of course, when scraped, the paint is removed, and it rusts in full view - there has to be a better way by providing a non-rusting running strip. Who has done what, please ? Barry F The sliding hatch on my Liverpool Boat runs on brass strips. They should be fairly easy to fit. Just make sure you're buying solid brass strip, not plated. Once you've got rid of the rust and primed the surface, you can get away with just bedding the strips down with Marineflex. Just key the underside of the brass with some abrasive paper and degrease with a cloth dampened with white spirit. Once the Marineflex has gone off you won't move the strips so you don't need countersunk brass screws and you can save yourself some work there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smelly Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 I've been trying to find the PTFE ones for a while to no avail. A friend with a Barry Hawkins boat had them and I was impressed, however by the time i asked Barry had gone out of business so there was no asking. The PTFE ones are very smooth, even compared to brass and they'll have my vote if i can find them... I looked at the brass runners at MC in Braunston last week but they seemed a tad expensive. For 47 quid I'd at least expect them to be drilled and countersunk (and they were about half again as long as I needed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timleech Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Tufnol is good. It stays straight, unlike HDPE which is often used. It's much more expensive though, and will absorb some moisture and therefore swell a little so 'engineering' clearances might be a bit too tight. Having said that, I have used HDPE (polyethylene) successfully in the past. Brass is OK, but it will encourage corrosion of the steel. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueb Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 We just put some oil on the metal. I try to keep away from brass - it needs cleaning. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smelly Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) I try to keep away from brass - it needs cleaning. What, so it's not supposed to be green? Edited September 6, 2009 by Smelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackrose Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) Tufnol is good. It stays straight, unlike HDPE which is often used. It's much more expensive though, and will absorb some moisture and therefore swell a little so 'engineering' clearances might be a bit too tight.Having said that, I have used HDPE (polyethylene) successfully in the past. Brass is OK, but it will encourage corrosion of the steel. Tim If it were underwater perhaps. I've found that the the avoidance of dissimilar metals in contact above the waterline is really worrying too much. The steel beneath my runners is in the same condition as when the boat was new 4 years ago and it's been exposed to the weather all that time. Have a look at most boats and you can see loads of examples of disimilar metals in proximity: aluminium windows, brass skin-fittings, etc, etc. In any case, if you bed the brass strips (or other fittings) with Marineflex then they're not really in contact. Edited September 7, 2009 by blackrose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FadeToScarlet Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 Personally, I've got a hardwood of some kind, which works quite well. I've just sanded it down, and am about to varnish them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lingwood Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 I've been meaning to sort out my runners for ages. I've got little nylon wheels though because I've got MASSIVE hatches. They stick sometimes though and take the paint off underneath them. These people have more different types of plastics than I've ever heard of. So many I've not actually managed to buy any yet! http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra F Posted September 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) I've been meaning to sort out my runners for ages. I've got little nylon wheels though because I've got MASSIVE hatches. They stick sometimes though and take the paint off underneath them. These people have more different types of plastics than I've ever heard of. So many I've not actually managed to buy any yet! http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/ Thanks Chris (and everybody for their suggestions). The Direct Plastics Online people offer PTFE, Tufnol and HDPE, all of which seem to work as well as brass or stainless steel, but appear to be cheaper. I'm thinking of going for the Tufnol, partly because it had already been recommended to me by a retired boat builder (but I couldn't find on Google because he spelt it incorrectly for me, but I do have loads of useless information on Phil Tufnell, the cricketer if wanted!), and partly because their blurb says "Whale Tufnol Sheet is perfect for wear resistant componants such as bearings, bushes, gears, washers, slideways and above waterline marine use.Tufnol Whale Sheet is dimensionally very stable, and can be either run dry or lubricated with water, oils or grease". I reckon enough 3mm (quessing that thickness) + cutting charges + postage will be about £20; PTFE maybe £40, and HDPE about £15. Hopefully all the information provided is of use to others. Barry F Edited September 7, 2009 by Sandra F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Direct Plastics Online people offer PTFE, Tufnol and HDPE...., This is the stuff you want: http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/TufnolSheet/Whale/1mm/ Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayeaye Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 This is the stuff you want: http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/TufnolSheet/Whale/1mm/ Tony We got some hard shiny rubber ones from"PUFFER PARTS" do the job great Bren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHutch Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 The sliding hatch on my Liverpool Boat runs on brass strips. They should be fairly easy to fit. Just make sure you're buying solid brass strip, not plated.Once you've got rid of the rust and primed the surface, you can get away with just bedding the strips down with Marineflex. Just key the underside of the brass with some abrasive paper and degrease with a cloth dampened with white spirit. Once the Marineflex has gone off you won't move the strips so you don't need countersunk brass screws and you can save yourself some work there. Sounds good to me. - If the hatch is a large one and heavy i would consider having it remade of aluminum as i know a few who have. - Eather way, i would say brass with wood blocks is best. Although currently out front hatch is brass to unpainted steel. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddingtonBear Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 The best hatch that I have seen is on good ship Mellaluca, bloody heavy but moves with light finger pressure because it is engineered with large bearings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batavia Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have used this stuff for many years, attached to the underside of the hatch lining using double-sided tape, and running on brass strips on one boat and stainless steel ones on another - it is a cheap and durable material - you can get enough for 2 hatches out of one 100 mm wide piece! http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminst...erial-21305.htm A friend has also used the self-adhesive version with great success. Chris G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FadeToScarlet Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 The best hatch that I have seen is on good ship Mellaluca, bloody heavy but moves with light finger pressure because it is engineered with large bearings It also goes "whish- THUMP!" sliding forwards if you hit something.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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