looking for perspex supplier (I want to make a companion way hatch)

colhel

colhel

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Hi all,
I'm looking for a perspex supplier as I want to make a new companion way hatch that i can use when i'm staying on the boat to try give the cabin a more airy feel.
So;

Can anyone recommend a supplier?

Can you suggest a grade I should use? (I'd like it slightly tinted)

If you've made one, have you any tips?

Many Regards

Colin
 
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colhel said:
If you've made one, have you any tips?
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Essential to my mind. Especially when its cold/wet. I even have a piece to put in place of the sliding hatch cover to get more light. Mine are polycarbonate, but simply because I had some (stronger than perspex, but scratches more easily). I'm sure you can find local suppliers everywhere, but two suppliers near Portsmouth advertise at the back of every mag.

Vic
 
I bought mine from Nu Signs in Plymouth. Tel 01752 266599.
They were very helpful and gave all the necessary advice on which grades to go for and they were able to package and send it to me. I ended up with a 12mm smoked perspex.

For cutting I found that Bosch plastic cutting jigsaw blades were very good. They have no set on the teeth and give a surprisingly good finish. I don't know the Bosch reference number but could look it up for you if necessary; they weren't readily available on the High Street.
Shaping and a bevel were done using a router. I wouldn't want to tackle the job without a router.

Finding a suitable lock was the hardest bit.

I wish I had done the job years ago, it transforms sitting down below when the weather isn't too good.

Oh, and measure twice, cut once!
 
Thanks.
My friend has a fabrication shop so I was planning on cutting it on a guilotine, would this work?
I had in mind a very simple one piece just cut to shape using the exsisting 2 wooden hatches as a template.
I've tried to think up a suitable plan for the sliding cover, can you explain briefly your arrangement please?


Many Regards

Colin
 
My friend has a fabrication shop so I was planning on cutting it on a guilotine, would this work?
Click to expand...
I would not think so.
I have scored and broken thinnish stuff like glass but other wise have sawn it. A band saw makes short work of it.

Most sensible is to send a template to one of the above suppliers and let them cut it to the exact size and shape you require.
 
I made one for our boat. A single piece of 12mm lightly grey smoked. Fortunately I was given a top sliding companionway hatch that had a corner broken off and I could get my vertical hatch out of the remainder without compromise.

I cut it with a variable speed jigsaw going fairly rapidly but dribbling a little water on to the cut all the time from a tomato sauce bottle. ( don't ask about electricity and water :eek: ) Without the water if you get it wrong and the plastic gets too hot and you stop the saw the material almost instantly cools and encapsulates the blade.

A file and various grades of wet and dry paper polished up the cut edge.

A piece of 12mm sheet 650mm * 650mm weighs a great deal! Must be 8kg at least.

A youngster or SWMBO really battle to move it either from the companionway or about the boat. I'm thinking of cutting it horizontally at some point but I am loath to do so really. It looks good as a single panel.

Make sure you have somewhere really secure to stow it when at sea and not in use. Let loose it would easily break a toe, foot, fingers or worse.

Keep the traditional companionway boards as spares / emergency gear. At sea I'd prefer them as they are easier to handle not just from a weight point of view but wet acrylic sheet makes an ice rink look grippy!

Make sure you have a bolt capable of holding the panel in place if the boat broaches for all the above reasons.

Make up a canvas bag for the panel when not in use. Prevent it getting scratched.

All that aside it's nice to be able to see out when sitting below and its tipping down :)
 
Thank you all for taking the trouble to answer. Lots of useful information from everyone. I have access to a bandsaw which should give me cleaner lines than a jigsaw (especially with me driving it :o).
I did have thought about the top hatch and wondered if any of you consider ita bit daft.
What if, instead of having it sliding it was made to tilt, rather like a tilting sunroof on a car, my reasons for considering this method are it could offer some (if rather more limited) protection as a sprayhood , would make it easier to enter and excit the cabin with the cover still in place and which could be useful when the weather is bad whilst underway as it would help keep the cabin dry.

Many Regards

Colin

Edit: Taking into account the clearance of the cabin roof to the boom, I think the tilt could be around 6" to a foot,
 
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I don't know the layout on your boat but, if you tilt the hatch, will it dump any rainwater which is on it down below? It wouldn't necessarily be much, but after a few trips up and down......
 
If you want the cut edges to have a clear polished finish play a gas blowtorch flame along the edges - try a practice piece first! Just made new washboards for mine in 16mm slightly green tint, like car windscreen. Cut with jigsaw at SLOW speed so the blade doesn't melt the plastic and stick. And I would think you need set teeth to create a wider slot for the blade, reducing friction, lowering the heat buildup so lessening the risk of melting the plastic and the blade grabbing. Finished wiyh edge trim bit in a router, then blowtorch to polish edges.
 
colhel said:
Thanks.
I've tried to think up a suitable plan for the sliding cover, can you explain briefly your arrangement please?
Colin
Click to expand...

I have plastic (polycarbonate I think) washboards and hatch on my boat. the hatch just slides, it has a wooden baton screwed to the top of the leading edge to push or pull on, and a groove milled out on the underside for the lock/bolt to engage in. If you are going to the length of replacing the washboards, I would suggest doing the hatch as well. It really lets a lot of light in. Mine are just clear plastic, and I usually hang a towel over the washboards for privacy when in a marina.
 
halcyon23 said:
And I would think you need set teeth to create a wider slot for the blade, reducing friction, lowering the heat buildup so lessening the risk of melting the plastic and the blade grabbing.
Click to expand...

Honestly, you don't. I would have agreed with what you said until I used the Bosch blades which I mentioned earlier. They were remarkably good; certainly better than I expected, or even hoped.
Proof of the pudding and all that.;)
 
I've posted this before- Much easier to live with than washboards. (And you can still put the washboards in should conditions demand it).

DSC_6902.jpg


(Ignore the bit over the top - STILL needs doing)

Andy
 
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