Companionways

[rgranger]

So it is probably necessary to distinguish between coastal cruisers and blue water boats... otherwise, we can never really drill down into this at all. In a coastal cruiser, there is the "floating RV" aspect to the design decisions. And while on the topic of companionways.... it might be good to think through the pros & cons of two common designs. I've owned boats with a single companionway board and ones with multiple boards (slats) with beveled edges. The single board is less prone to leak and easier to secure in place and also easier to secure your boat from unwanted entry by humans.... but a PITA to store while underway with the companionway open. The slat style is easy to store underway but almost impossible to secure. I'm also guessing that in a knockdown situation, the slats would fall out easier and wash overboard...

And on securing from unwanted human intrusion...on my H26, the hasp to lock up the boat in on the top slat and allows me to lock it to the sliding roof hatch. But in reality, if I give the coach roof hatch a hard bump with the butt of my palms, I can knock the top slat out of its grooves and open my boat without removing the lock. I did it by accident once when I forgot it was locked and tried to open the boat. So ... the lock is just for show. One of my modifications on my to-do list is to put some ss-eyelets down the back side of my slats and run a bar down the length of the slats for when I lock up the boat. But a better solution would be a single board for the entire companionway.... but then I would have storage issues.

 

[jssailem]

the lock is just for show.

Ibelieve this is the case on most boats. Keeps the honest people honest. If intent is to enter the boat the locks and hasps we use on boats are less than a speed bump to access.

To deny serious water from getting to your salon you will need a lot more than loose fitting plywood slats covering the 3 ft wide hole we call a companion way. Water weighs 8 pounds a gallon. The rouge wave coming over your transom is going to do some damage.

 

[VV]

Sounds reasonable. Yes, there are other designs as well. Like on a Pearson, similar to a french door. If you blue water to France you'll be one up.

 

[rgranger]

If you do a google image search for "companionway doors" a lot of really nice options come up.

 

[Sandy Stone]

Let's take a deep breath here and come back to reality. As Stu says, almost nobody on this forum will ever have a wave swamp the cockpit and endanger the boat. Far more likely is a knockdown due to a sudden gust that will allow water over the coaming and start to flood the cockpit (as happened to me a couple of times on previous boats). In that case, what you want is a high companionway sill so solid water doesn't get below, or at least stout well secured hatchboards, and well secured mostly watertight cockpit locker lids. More than one J24 has sunk in a knockdown because the cockpit lockers opened up and flooded the boat, but a few drips and trickles below are only going to make a mess. Engineering a coastal cruiser to be completely watertight in a rollover is total overkill.

 

[VV]

You have a point. Stick to the coast.

 

[Gunni]

The most fearsome places I have ever sailed were close to the coast and near inlets. Those are the places where the boards go in and everyone get's their game face on.

What Franklin said: know and watch the weather.

 

[Kings Gambit]

Most of the time we sail (and motor) with the lower hatch board locked in place with a barrel bolt. It's somewhat inconvenient to step over it all the time, but we hardly notice it now as we've been doing it for so long. Frankly, if you're going to sit at the helm in a harness attached to a strong point in the cockpit logic would follow that the companion way should also be fully secured. Being attached at the helm is your insurance against being swept over by boarding seas or a during a roll over. So, it's "dumb" to be attached w/ the hatch boards stowed and the companionway open since the water that does not sweep you off the boat will still get below. It barely makes a little more sense to sail unattached with the companion way half blocked with a hatch board, or--companion way open and no attachment in the cockpit.

 

[capta]

a good sea anchor .

Chances are if you do use that good sea anchor in a blow bad enough to think you need something out there, you won't have a rudder after the bad weather has passed. Early on in my sailing career I found those things to be more a danger to the boat than a help.
Drogues are a better alternative, but they also have their dangers. My preference is to take the helm and drive the boat through the storm.

 

[shemandr]

...Far more likely is a knockdown due to a sudden gust that will allow water over the coaming and start to flood the cockpit (as happened to me a couple of times on previous boats). ... More than one J24 has sunk in a knockdown because the cockpit lockers opened up and flooded the boat,...

And at least one Alerion Express 28. It happened really fast. If anyone was below I don't think they could have gotten out. This was within 2 miles of land.

 

[AaronD]

I know of a Catalina 22 that went down on a local lake. - pushing too hard in a blow without the drop boards in. One crew member was below at the time and had to swim for it. She belonged to the local Sea Scouts (but I don't think any youth were aboard at the time). They raised the boat and we ran into them at the lake as they relaunched her. After that conversation, engineering a way to secure my drop boards immediately went to the top of my list...

 

[centerline]

before I had the bimini canvas on, and while I had the dodger off being rebuilt after we bought the boat, we had a severe storm. and the direction our boat sets in its slip, all the really bad storms come from behind it... so the wind caused a small amount of water to be blown through the boards on to the companionway steps, and rather than getting out the foam tape to seal the cracks, I snapped the hatch board canvas in place.... it stopped the leak.

it is my opinion that if I were in danger of being pooped with a cockpit full of water and wanted to seal the hatch as well as possible from water intrusion, installing the companionway hatchboard canvas would be the best way to do it (leaving it loose from the slider).... any water pressure will press the material against the cracks and either stop or slow the water intrusion to a bare minimum, while preventing ANY intrusion due to splashing... a strap or two from the canvas over the top of the boards and snapped inside is a fair way to keep the boards in place in the event of a knockdown or capsize.
but capsizing has its own set of real problems, and as undesirable as it may be, a couple gallons of water intrusion is pretty low on the list, and is very seldom preventable.


so I see no need to have to boards sealed any tighter than is normal. I like what little ventilation the cracks allow, while remaining secure when im not there.... and if using foam tape or bulb seal to fill any gaps, in that particular application it will collect and hold moisture and could cause other issues in the long run.

 

[jssailem]

Found this article from Cruising world.
http://www.cruisingworld.com/sailboats/companionway-design-down-main-hatch
What is the solution?

 

[jssailem]

Good info Centerline. Like the concept. It is not the incidental rain water that gives me concern, it is the ability to hold up against a serious boarding wave while I'm trying to scoot to a safe anchorage. The power of waves are often under estimated. 63 pounds per cubic foot falling onto a boat can seriously change your day.

 

[rgranger]

.... They raised the boat and we ran into them at the lake as they relaunched her. .t...

Man... that is bad luck. First a knockdown and then a collision.

 

[capta]

Or you could go this way. Personally, I HATE hatch boards. This is the very first job I undertook after moving aboard. It slides tightly in the hatch board slots. A bit of starboard and a hinge.

 

[sdstef]

Not to steal the thread, but I would like to hear more about that event. What did you do to secure the companionway after you lost the hatch boards? Did you do a complete rollover? Was that in your current boat?

 

[capta]

The boat had solid wooden doors which were not lost. The sliding hatch was torn off.
Not my current boat. That was a wooden boat, this one is fiberglass. I believe we owe our lives to the fact that she had wooden masts and the main was a solid tree. I'm sure the buoyancy of that tree righted the boat before she had taken on enough water to sink. Just a theory, but that's what I think.
I'll try to dig out some pics and put together a post of that adventure, but it will be a while as were pretty booked up in Feb. and March is looking good, too.