Cutting a rear access door?

[Falcoron]

Ive seen a few Broom 35 sedans with this door at the rear;

Has anyone done a DIY like this before could give me some hints advice etc.?

This would be great for getting on and off and docking as our joints are starting to get rather stiff and sore.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Bouba]

It would be a great project ?? If I was doing it, I would use the section of transom that gets cut out and make that into the new door. That way when the door is closed it would still look original

 

[oldgit]

If you have davits. there could be a considerable amount of hidden steelwork inside there.
On my Princess 35 it took about a good day to grind out and remove all the reinforcing metal bars and stuff used to prevent damage by the weight of the davits and dinghy to the transom.
A couple of access panels had to be cut in the glassfibre to access impopssible to get at nuts and bolts.
Will it weaken the hull integrity and you are going to lose seating .

 

[Falcoron]

no davits on mine and no other stuff going through that area.

 

[Falcoron]

It would be a great project ?? If I was doing it, I would use the section of transom that gets cut out and make that into the new door. That way when the door is closed it would still look original

Yes ive seen that on google search as well and looks good, adds a lot more work though.
but agree far better looking

 

[Seastoke]

This is a colvic I did cut out for obvious reasons.

 

[Bouba]

Radical Manatee Transom door mod - Trawler Forum

 

[Falcoron]

This is a colvic I did cut out for obvious reasons.

Looks great

 

[Falcoron]

This is a colvic I did cut out for obvious reasons.

Did you do this as a DIY or get a company to do it, did you keep the cut out to make the door, and have you any pictures of the project?
cheers

 

[Flynnbarr]

I don’t think you’ll have any structural issues as I have seen,a while back mind and I can’t find it anywhere,a broom sedan same as yours that was for sale with wheelchair access cut in the transom as post 6 has done.

 

[Seastoke]

Did you do this as a DIY or get a company to do it, did you keep the cut out to make the door, and have you any pictures of the project?
cheers

I am down the boat at the moment I am back later this week , I will post on here .

 

[Seastoke]

It was a diy job.

 

[Seastoke]

 

[oldgit]

no davits on mine and no other stuff going through that area.

Have you thought about the difficulties of getting across from that swim platform and then "up" onto any pontoon.
We have couple of Sedans on our moorings, if memory serves the swim platform is quite low and does nor extend out very far ?

Its a bit of a gap
Our present boat was purchased with exactly your present problem in in mind and little boarding ramp was cobbled up......it is rarely used.

 

[Falcoron]

Have you thought about the difficulties of getting across from that swim platform and then "up" onto any pontoon.
We have couple of Sedans on our moorings, if memory serves the swim platform is quite low and does nor extend out very far ?

Its a bit of a gap
Our present boat was purchased with exactly your present problem in in mind and little boarding ramp was cobbled up......it is rarely used.

Yes good point!
Fortunately I am on the Erne Shannon and the legs on marinas are low to the water so simple step off with no difficulty
Most of the locks have dual height
Sidings to stop on and off, so rear access or step over the side would be ok for these
But good point for anyone st sea as docks vary greatly

 

[The Q]

it's an interesting thread as it's something I've been considering on my Boat, but it's an Elysian 27CC so it would be side access.
At the moment it's a 3 ft climb out of the centre cockpit onto the side deck and often another 3 ft drop back down onto the quay..

 

[Offshore57]

We thought about a transom door, but we love the size of the cockpit too much (Princess 415), plus we have an inset stainless step on each side so its pretty easy to board till we get to a point where it's physically difficult....then we may have a re-think..

 

[Time Out]

I don’t think you’ll have any structural issues as I have seen,a while back mind and I can’t find it anywhere,a broom sedan same as yours that was for sale with wheelchair access cut in the transom as post 6 has done.

Yes, it was done for a lady who used to keep it at Harleyford Marina on the Thames many years back. One on the side too.

 

[Flynnbarr]

if your still looking to do this OP there is a Broom sedan for sale on Boatshed at the mo with a transom door…may help you.

 

[PCUK]

I did a very similar job. My transom already had a half height access gangway which I cut down to deck level and then fabricated a door to match the transom.

Original gangway inside.


and from outside.



Cut-out finished.



Had to lay-up a mould using the transom as the plug for the outside of the door.



Polished to a rough finish. Didn't need to be perfect at this stage.



Fabricated the inner stiffeners onto the mat/resin on the mould.



Lots of fairing, filling and sanding.



Fabricated my own stainless hinges for the now primed door.



Finished outside view.



Inside view. The door catch was made from a standard stainless domestic set with various custom bits inside to make it work. (Nothing complicated though).



Door open.



PM me if you'd like any more details.
(Sharp eyed readers may notice that I also added a bathing/boarding platform in the interim).