replacing a washboard.

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steve yates

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my padlock was rusted solid, so I forced the lock, the hasp ripping out of the washboard.
I now have the washboard as a template, can I take it to any joiners? are there speicalists in marine ply? Or perhaps I could get an acrylic one done while I'm at it. Where would one get that done? looking near benfleet in essex for either. Oh and is it easy to put a hasp in an acrylic washboard for locking it up again?
Thanks.
 
Acrylic will let some light in. Google should find someone to supply it. It's as easy to drill etc as wood, just go slowly or it'll melt.
 
For acrylic look for a local signmaker who will be able to cut and machine to your template.Otherwise plenty of on line suppliers who will do the same. Drilling holes for hasp not difficult, but could ask the supplier to do it.

Making out of ply is more work as ideally you need to edge the ply with hardwood and you may find you have to buy a 1/4 sheet as minimum.
 
Tranona said:
For acrylic look for a local signmaker who will be able to cut and machine to your template.Otherwise plenty of on line suppliers who will do the same. Drilling holes for hasp not difficult, but could ask the supplier to do it.

Making out of ply is more work as ideally you need to edge the ply with hardwood and you may find you have to buy a 1/4 sheet as minimum.
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If its for the Longbow then the original wasn't
 
People who make shop signs often sell the acryllic or polycarb sheet, might even shape it for you.
Or you can buy it on ebay etc.
IF you make a new wooden washboard, keep the old one and reinforce it, then use it over winter while you varnish the new one.
Our winter washboard has more louvres in it, would be not much use offshore I suspect.

Letting light in is good sometimes, but not always. Sometimes it's good to shut the world out after a night sail. Less of an issue in Keswick perhaps?
 
I had to make a new washboard after some thieves helpfully threw them away. Out of all the inconveniencies of having a boat burgled, this was the thing that irked the most. I found making the washboard a lot more work than I thought it would be. The angles and size was critical and even now it jams at the bottom for some reason. On mine, the bottom edge of the washboard should be angled such that it overlaps the bottom washboard so it doesn't leak. Getting this right was a right pain.

If you have the original then draw round it accurately and get someone to make it. I found getting decent wood for such a small thing difficult, to the point that the new one has started to disintegrate already, so Perspex may be a better option. Take it easy drilling it, as it can crack. Use bolts for the clasp rather than screws, it's possible to tap Perspex, but if it were me I would use rivnuts on the back sunk into the plastic.

If you can get into your boat merely by yanking out the clasp, then presumably anyone can. I use a stainless latch lock that is recessed rather than a padlock, they can rust dontcha know.
 
I made replacement washboards several years ago and fitted a cam lock, which is deliberately the weak point in the boat. My reasoning is that nothing I'm going to do will keep a determined thief out and I'd far rather they do minimal damage getting in to find nothing worth stealing (my instruments, such as they are, unplug and come home with me when we leave the boat), rather than take an angle grinder to everything and, effectively, write the boat off.

I also built in ventilation, with holes drilled through the top washboard near the top and a cover overlapping them on the outside.
 
I made some washboards, and thought I could get away with using exterior ply, rather than marine ply. I didn't get away with it.
 
I made a set for my leisure 27 recently. My advice is to lip the exposed plywood edge with timber to protect the ply and help stop delaminating
 
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My washboards are also due for replacement, and thinking about going full transparent. Any arguments against the top being perspex or polycarbonate, like this one?
IMAG02461-800x531.jpg

A bit reluctant about the strength, guessing marine ply could hold the lock better/slightly more burglar-proof.

Also, which material should be better? Polycarbonate or plexiglas/perspex?
 
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Wash boards, or in our current case aluminium patio doors on a cat, are not a match for determined thieves. You can deter but cannot stop them - accept it, and it is extremely annoying (and take out insurance).

On our X99 we had acrylic washboards, made against a template from the old wash boards. The advantage is - obvious - you can see out even in inclement weather.

We built 'washboards' for our cat (to enclose the cockpit, which is open to the transoms) to contain wayward grandchildren, from foam that I glassed.

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
Wash boards, or in our current case aluminium patio doors on a cat, are not a match for determined thieves. You can deter but cannot stop them - accept it, and it is extremely annoying (and take out insurance).
On our X99 we had acrylic washboards, made against a template from the old wash boards. The advantage is - obvious - you can see out even in inclement weather.
We built 'washboards' for our cat (to enclose the cockpit, which is open to the transoms) to contain wayward grandchildren, from foam that I glassed.
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Right, the determined ones of course not - will stick to 10mm acrylic or polycarbonate then.

@LittleSister: thanks! For ideas at least, I think I'll cut them myself or let it cut locally in North Wales, once I found a signmaker who takes the job. AFAIK normal tools used to work on wood should be fine...
 
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GTom said:
My washboards are also due for replacement, and thinking about going full transparent. Any arguments against the top being perspex or polycarbonate, like this one?
View attachment 77638
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Only that it might be a bit bright in the early morning if anyone sleeps in the saloon, and possibly less privacy if you moor stern-to a town quay somewhere (but most of the time the waterfront is busy, I imagine you'd have the washboards out anyway). Our previous boat had a removable curtain that hung between two small eyes either side of the hatch; on the current one we just drape a towel over the outside when transparency is not wanted.

GTom said:
A bit reluctant about the strength, guessing marine ply could hold the lock better/slightly more burglar-proof.
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Remember that polycarbonate is used for police riot shields, industrial safety guarding, and lighter varieties of "bulletproof glass". It picks up minor surface scratches, but I think it's pretty good against impact. I've never done any serious testing but I'd expect it to be as good as or better than an equal thickness of ply.

GTom said:
Also, which material should be better? Polycarbonate or plexiglas/perspex?
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See above :)

(I believe Plexiglas and Perspex are both trade names for acrylic, if you want to compare actual materials)

Pete
 
Thank you Pete, correct, Plexiglas=perspex=acrylic. Will rather go polycarbonate(=Lexan=Makrolon=Palsun...) then. Thought about going thinner, but the top board is quite big, I'd feel more confident having 10mm instead of 6-8.
 
prv said:
You'll want it to fit in the same slots as the plywood anyway, presumably.

Pete
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The bottom one is ply - have to check its thickness - the top one is 10mm white-milky plastic (don't know the material).
 
I have wondered about using HDPE(?) - like wot chopping boards are made of - for washboards, thinking this might provide robustness, let in light but give privacy, and not needing to worry about scratches. I have no experience of using it for that purpose, though, so don't know how it would be in practice.

If using polycarbonate/acrylic etc. be wary of going too thick/large: it starts getting very heavy. A friend had a replacement washboard made in clear plastic the thickness of the original, 'ocean' wooden washboards (3/4" or more, IIRC). Even though modest in area, it was a real danger to fingers and (if you dropped them) toes or anything else that got in the way. If you've got a deep channel for the washboards, better to make up the edges with wood, or narrow the channel.
 
Weight is indeed an issue, remember lifting thick (20mm?) polycarbonate washboards on a boat I was a guest two years ago. I definitely don't want those things on my toes! Multiwall sheets could be interesting, but they are very thick. Anyway, not many options sans transparent wood around...
 
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