Companionway doors or drop boards?

[misterg]

Fitting doors to the main companionway access on a sailing boat seems so much more civilised than the usual arrangement of barricading yourselves in/out with a collection of planks, yet it seems relatively uncommon.

I can understand that on a very small boat, they may take up too much space, but other than this, why are they not more common?

Andy

 

[shmoo]

I assumed that hinged doors would be a weakness in the case of a big lump of green water coming over the back and slamming in to the cockpit.

 

[misterg]

I don't see why they couldn't be designed to be just as strong as boards Most of the boards that I've seen (on AWBs, admittedly) seem to be relatively thin ply, anyway.

Maybe doors would need a 'strong-back' adding for storm conditions, but I would have thought the clatter-free simplicity of normal access would be attractive.

Andy

 

[MoodySabre]

When I sold my Snappy the man said he was going to fit doors. I think that would be great - no wondering where to put them, clip them back and hey ho. The only advantage of washboards is that you can leave one out at night with the hatch over and get good ventilation and light when it rains.

Compromise, compromise - ain't it ever so.

 

[Emjaytoo]

A certain German High Volume producer, now fits exactly that. And I hear that some folk remove the doors and fit wash boards.

Perhaps it comes down to personal taste.

We have perspex wash boards and they are fine.

 

[Poignard]

The early Twisters built by Uphams had doors. Mine has them and I wouldn't change them. The boat is 41 years old and shows no signs of the doors ever having been damaged.

 

[srp]

I like doors, having experienced them on my last boat (1938, nice mahogany). The downside is that you need a way to clip them in the open position, and they must open through 180 so they fold flat against the aft face of the cabin structure. You may also lose the space to hang the halyard bags, install all the electronic displays etc, especially in a smaller boat. The other consideration is the angle of the aft face of the cabin (ie whether it is vertical, or sloping), which may result in a strange opening geometry, if you get my drift.

 

[tangomoon]

Unsure but read in Heavy weather sailing, by the man himself and recommendations after 79 Fastnet

forget doors

not as strong as washboards

Listen here

or page 13 below

http://www.focus.com.au/PDFs/CYCA_Chapter5.pdf

live longer


BOL

 

[kingfisher]

Currently my washboards are in mint condition, but if I were to do it again, I would make them double as a cockpit table.

 

[tangomoon]

Very good idea!

Another thought on ours was we put white plastic on inside and can turn around to write pilotage thereon for difficult approaches or under poor conditions

 

[misterg]

Interesting document, thanks. The only reference I can find there is [ QUOTE ]
Companionway washboards should be two-part, with
lower section high, to reduce water intake in the
event of a knockdown.

[/ QUOTE ] rather than anti doors per-se.

However, I'm not going to find myself in the middle of the Sydney to Hobart race without getting a few clues beforehand /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I understand about the risk of getting 'pooped' in heavy conditions, and the potential requirement for the companionway closure to withstand this, but I don't see that this rules either doors or boards in or out - a well designed and strong execution would seem to be the only prereqisite - One could even have both, or even better, a dogged, watertight door if one was particularly concerned.

For the other 99.99% of the time, the potential speed and ease of access with doors, especially when the weather is cold and/or wet, appears to me as something worth having, and I'm surprised they're not more widely used.

Andy

 

[Adonnante]

The ISAF special regs make no provision for any solution other than washboards, this like a number of other rules lead to type forming and encourages the industry to continue with the same path. I also guess for a manufacturer washboards are cheaper than doors.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Doors work well in houses, because everything is (more or less) vertical and square. Not so with companionways, which can have odd shapes, curves and angles. I suspect unless a companionway is designed for doors, actually making some that fit, open, fold back, are watertight AND look good might be a challenge.

There also doesn't seem to be a door equivalent of leaving the lower washboard in place to form a 'dam' at the forward end of the cockpit, although this is less important now that so many boats have some form of bridgedeck.

 

[nimbusgb]

Provided that you can sort out the geometry why not have both?

I have washboards that fit into a regular slot but I'm thinking of putting a pair of hardwood louvred doors over the outside frame. Security of washboards used in a seaway, simplicity and ventilation of louvred doors when not under way.

 

[ianabc]

Perhaps neither are "good" for an ocean going boat.

Metal boats, particularly on the west coast of North America now have a door that swings shut and locks on a rubber seal.

These appear to be as watertight as a submarine hatch!

Access for the lock is sometines through a small prt so as make sawing through the security lock as difficult as possible.

 

[Poignard]

Hate to boast but I have three companionway doors! Two upper ones hinged vertically and a lower one hinged horizontally. The top of the lower one is about level with the cockpit seats, or the height of the bridge deck that some Twisters have but mine doesn't.

If I ever did a major cockpit re-build, for maximum strength I would probably install a bridge deck instead of the lower horizontal door but I would keep the two vertical doors because they are much more convenient to use than drop-boards.

How about those glazed doors with leaded lights that the old Dutch saling barges have? Very smart!

 

[cliffordpope]

By "hinged vertically" do you mean the hinge pivot points vertically, or the door opens vertically on a horizontal pivot?

 

[Poignard]

[ QUOTE ]
By "hinged vertically" do you mean the hinge pivot points vertically,

[/ QUOTE ]

That's what I mean.

 

[asteven221]

Having came back to sailing after a few years with a mobo with patio doors, the first thing that noticed with the yacht is that washboards are a pain in the backside. Doors would be much better and should be able to be engineered to keep out most of the green stuff.

 

[Twister_Ken]

See the new Moody Conservatory 45 for details.