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Companionway Doors
posted 09-09-2022 by OS2Dude
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I decided to make a set of removable companionway doors after I got tired of having to lift the hatch boards in and out all the time. The doors feature removeable panels for either light or privacy as well as hidden hinges. The wife likes dolphins, so I carved one on the bottom portion of each door.
Click for larger view
I measured the lengths and angles of our boat and designed these. Made a proof of concept set from PVC boards, and even used them for a while to make sure the design would work. I then made a set from White Oak. Even though I oiled and varnished them, the white oak started to warp after a year or so in the sun. I remade them in Cumaru (Brazilian Teak). They have lasted for several years but have started to check. Next set will either be Teak or Ipe.
The half hinges attach to inserts that fit into the slots that hold the hatch boards. (The thin pieces on the edges in the drawing.) These are screwed into the opening but can be easily removed if I need to go back to the hatch boards. The hinges were let into the door and inserts so the doors would close with no opening along the edge for water to get in through.
The wife and I like them a lot and they serve us well in the location we sail in. I would not go Blue Water sailing with them however, as they would not be able to withstand a wave coming over the stern in a bad storm without some kind of bracing along the top.
NOTE: The drawing is for our boat, it should be close to others, but you will need to verify everything if you choose to make a set for yourself. Even ours needed a little fiddling to make right. All measurements are actual size. Thickness and width from the store are rough cut dimensions, not finished. Store thickness would be 1.0.
The bottom and side pieces are solid 0.75 wood with a 0.25 rabbet cut into the inside edge for the panels to slide in. They connect with mortice and tendon and are pinned with wood dowels in addition to being glued. The top is made of two 0.25 slats that are lap jointed to a 0.25 mortice in the side pieces. This is to create an opening in the top to allow the panels to slide in and out. To create the dowels for the pins, I used a 0.375 plug cutter used along the grain of the wood. If it was used as normal cutting across the grain, they could shear along the plain of the grain.
(The bottom piece was actually 1.0 thick [1.0+ from the store], but only to give me excess to carve the relief of the dolphins.)
The half hinges attach to inserts that fit into the slots that hold the hatch boards. (The thin pieces on the edges in the drawing.) These are screwed into the opening but can be easily removed if I need to go back to the hatch boards. The hinges were let into the door and inserts so the doors would close with no opening along the edge for water to get in through.
The wife and I like them a lot and they serve us well in the location we sail in. I would not go Blue Water sailing with them however, as they would not be able to withstand a wave coming over the stern in a bad storm without some kind of bracing along the top.
NOTE: The drawing is for our boat, it should be close to others, but you will need to verify everything if you choose to make a set for yourself. Even ours needed a little fiddling to make right. All measurements are actual size. Thickness and width from the store are rough cut dimensions, not finished. Store thickness would be 1.0.
The bottom and side pieces are solid 0.75 wood with a 0.25 rabbet cut into the inside edge for the panels to slide in. They connect with mortice and tendon and are pinned with wood dowels in addition to being glued. The top is made of two 0.25 slats that are lap jointed to a 0.25 mortice in the side pieces. This is to create an opening in the top to allow the panels to slide in and out. To create the dowels for the pins, I used a 0.375 plug cutter used along the grain of the wood. If it was used as normal cutting across the grain, they could shear along the plain of the grain.
(The bottom piece was actually 1.0 thick [1.0+ from the store], but only to give me excess to carve the relief of the dolphins.)