Widebeam Backdoor/sliding hatch

[boater123]

Hi,

 

I am doing up a widebeam sailaway and am about to finish my back door properly. I have an idea of how to do this from looking at finished ones but have a few questions and would like to hear your thoughts and feelings.

 

My plan is to use a nightlatch to secure the doors together and then a vertical sliding lock to secure the sliding hatch to the doors.

 

I plan to secure a wooden frame to all moving parts sprayfoam the exposed steel, cut this back once gone off and then finish teh doors with a nice wooden finish. I will then secure the locks to the frame. ( probably going to pre cut the slots for the locks.)

 

Is this a sensible way of doing it.

 

Also I have seen brushes used on the tope of teh sliding hatch..is this a good way to keep teh draaft out. Currently my hatch just lides on the paint and it is already starting to wear away. Do brushes solve that issue?

 

All thoughts on this will be welcome.

 

Many thanks,

 

Will

[Phil Ambrose]

Assuming the pair of doors are your exit a problem you will have is that once locked it is easy to just lever them open unless one door is bolted on the inside, I guess you could get into the routine of doing this. The vertical lock on the hatch sounds very much like the locking arrangement on mine, it works fine.

Phil

[blackrose]

I don't think the issue is limited to widebeams, but I've seen boats where rain water landing on the exposed section of the closed sliding hatch runners runs along the runners and then drips into the boat. Ideally the runners should be angled very slightly outwards.

 

On the locking issue, however the stern doors are locked, I'd always want to take advantage of the extra security that an overhanging sliding hatch provides. If the hatch can't be lifted, the doors can't be opened outwards.

Edited February 4, 2016 by blackrose