Washboards - Why?

[Boo2]

Sunrunner's engine casing has a pair of rt-angle x-sectioned battens screwed to it running at an angle to the vertical which matches the slope on the sides of the washboards / main hatch. When not in use the boards just slot into that instead of the hatch and they are safely tucked out of the way.

Boo2

 

[MoodySabre]

When I sold my Snapdragon the new owner said that the first thing he would do was to fit doors. Go for it.

 

[prv]

Some AMEL's have a brilliant arrangement where the washboard pulls up like a sash window.
You need to have space below the aperture and parallell sides but you would be the envy of the fleet!!!!!

I came up with a design like that independently, for the fantasy boat I'm never going to build . Mine was designed so it could be clamped in position at any height, so you could have the small slot at the top in rough weather, etc. However, you need to pay careful attention to the drainage arrangements for the cavity they descend into, and a removable access panel for when small items fall down the cracks also seems like a good idea.

Pete

 

[Heckler]

My washboards are in need of some serious work, which has set me thinking.

The hole they have to fill is roughly square and we don't do the Southern Ocean, so I can't remember the last time we put them in at sea. On a small boat, they're a pain in the bum to store. (no that's not where we put 'em, though I could have been tempted with one or two people I've met...)

So, Why not have a pair of doors? I've space each side of the companionway for them to open through 180 degrees and lie flat if I fit the right kind of hinges. I can even imagine upholstering the inside so they form cushions for our backs when we're chilling in the cockpit.

I could easily make 'em at least as secure as the current washboards, which is only enough to mean you are breaking in, as a 40+ year old Snapdragon isn't going to tempt a professional thief and I'd rather a passing scrote get in to find there's nothing worth nicking without writing the boat off.

Why is this a bad idea - or is is just that washboards are easier for a cost-concious boat builder?

Running before 20 plus knots and 2 -3 mtrs swells down the Spanish and Portuguese coasts like we did a few weeks ago would give a good enough example of why washboards are needed! The swish as they broke under the keel and the little swish that some of them made at their peaks concentrated my mind somewhat!
S

 

[ChattingLil]

we soon found that washboards were a pain when living aboard - in out in out in out. I knocked up a prototype set of doors with a pair of cheap piano hinges and a £6 pine shelf from b&q. I wish I had made a better job and made it prettier and more substantial, because the prototype works so well it's been there a year already. Easy to take out and replace with the washboards when at sea.

 

[FullCircle]

we soon found that washboards were a pain when living aboard - in out in out in out. I knocked up a prototype set of doors with a pair of cheap piano hinges and a £6 pine shelf from b&q. I wish I had made a better job and made it prettier and more substantial, because the prototype works so well it's been there a year already. Easy to take out and replace with the washboards when at sea.

A cat flap is a brilliant addition.....

 

[Stemar]

A cat flap is a brilliant addition.....

Don't need one Jissel's a monohull.

(And I get in enough of a flap already)

 

[KellysEye]

We had doors on a 38 foot ketch it saves having to mess about storing washboards.

 

[[2574]]

All of the Pilot House Nauticats have 2 perspex washboard doors which hinge back through 90deg. They lift (from the water trap trough) and open inward to lie against the companionway sides. The doors are rebated at the meeting surfaces and overlap to prevent water ingress. This rebate also locks both doors together for security when locked to the sliding hatch. Works well for us.

 

[SHUG]

I like Charlie Hussey's novel approach. See:http://marinecarpentry.com/fitout/dutch-barge-wheelhouse/