Love my home pocket doors...... one by one I am replacing doors where ever I can fit one.
Doors on sailboats--Do we need them?
- Thread starter Kings Gambit
- Start date
Huh, I was wondering the same thing reading this thread. I love doors and likely over do using them in residential design/construction. Pocket doors have their warts but for a boat I could see some applications.
I'm a big fan of secret doors too, the ones that disappear into a wall. Not much sense on a boat though,... I'm a door nut.
Doors are sort of like fences … they make good neighbors. Sue maybe couldn't live with me if we didn't have doors! 
They are pretty useful sometimes.
They are pretty useful sometimes.
It's just the two of us on board, 98% of the time.
The factory installed beautiful teak faced doors for the aft cabin, forward cabin, and head compartment. The one "vital" door on the head is still in place... and that's a Good thing.
The others are varnished nicely and stored at home for the next owner.
Admittedly, lots of interior doors for imaginary privacy Do help sell boats to hesitant spouses, at warm indoor boat shows, in January..... Along with steering wheels and sheeting schemes that move the mainsheet away from the cockpit area where it might be of some use should the boat ever leave the dock and be... actually... sailed.
Aside: someone mentioned needing a way to keep their door(s) from swinging wildly (and also allowing for ventilation), so here is a little link to the door hardware that came with our boat:
www.ericsonyachts.org
The factory installed beautiful teak faced doors for the aft cabin, forward cabin, and head compartment. The one "vital" door on the head is still in place... and that's a Good thing.
The others are varnished nicely and stored at home for the next owner.
Admittedly, lots of interior doors for imaginary privacy Do help sell boats to hesitant spouses, at warm indoor boat shows, in January..... Along with steering wheels and sheeting schemes that move the mainsheet away from the cockpit area where it might be of some use should the boat ever leave the dock and be... actually... sailed.
Aside: someone mentioned needing a way to keep their door(s) from swinging wildly (and also allowing for ventilation), so here is a little link to the door hardware that came with our boat:
O34 - Vent Method for Cabin Doors
After accidently discovering that not all the early Olsons have the same "ventilation feature" as ours, I thought it might be good to try and share this feature. It's been copied by other boaters for other makes of boat around our YC over the...
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On my older cat 27, replacing the heavy salon curtain with a door between head and salon and head and vee berth seems to be a popular upgrade. I considered the rather simple project, but as KG quite practically observed...….. what's the point???? Fast Olsen alludes to the "imaginary privacy" the lightweight, thin doors provide... IOW out of sight doesn't mean out of sound, or out of smell.... A good ventilation fan and close attention to diet may be a better solution.
.Therefore, on smaller boats like mine, I can't justify it.... It's like your first day in boot camp and you realize there are no stalls in the communal head and you're sleeping in a barracks room with 60 other guys. Suddenly, you're in a family with 59 brothers who all have the same bodily functions as you. It's a character building experience.
That said...… KG's complaint is easily resolved with a screwdriver... or a visit to the local RV sales lot to see some creative answers to the interior door question.
.Therefore, on smaller boats like mine, I can't justify it.... It's like your first day in boot camp and you realize there are no stalls in the communal head and you're sleeping in a barracks room with 60 other guys. Suddenly, you're in a family with 59 brothers who all have the same bodily functions as you. It's a character building experience.
That said...… KG's complaint is easily resolved with a screwdriver... or a visit to the local RV sales lot to see some creative answers to the interior door question.
Well, My 79 H30C came with a pocket door for head privacy. I would not change it.
In fact a few years ago a poster here wanted to know how to build one for his Hunter,
as a P.O. had broken/discarded the original on the poster's 'new to him' boat.
Most women don't think of a curtain as much privacy on a boat, IMHO!
In fact a few years ago a poster here wanted to know how to build one for his Hunter,
as a P.O. had broken/discarded the original on the poster's 'new to him' boat.
Most women don't think of a curtain as much privacy on a boat, IMHO!
Lord if I had a dime for every time I hung a belt loop on a handle and got caught up, flailing. We prefer curtains in all cases, but we are just the two of us ever, so we don’t need doors. Maybe compromise and make accordian doors?
If it's just wife and I, even the head door is tethered open. It's a bifold, and for some strange reason, I'm the only person on the planet that finds it easy to open and close. My C30 has a curtain for the v-berth and the quarterberth is wide open. The curtain has never been used.
For a bigger boat like KG's? Yup... I'd def keep the head door. If it's not having guests, just remove the cabin doors if it makes y'all happy.
I hate curtains. PITA, as far as I'm concerned. I'd much rather have a single slab door.
Pocket doors would be cool, but bulkheads are/were never thick enough to support them. And with the flexing of the boat they'd likely be unreliable.
For a bigger boat like KG's? Yup... I'd def keep the head door. If it's not having guests, just remove the cabin doors if it makes y'all happy.
I hate curtains. PITA, as far as I'm concerned. I'd much rather have a single slab door.
Pocket doors would be cool, but bulkheads are/were never thick enough to support them. And with the flexing of the boat they'd likely be unreliable.
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My cat had 3 (aft staterooms, head). They were out of the way and had hooks to hold them. Loop handles. We liked them.
It's a matter of design. Same with houses; some have doors in dumb places, some don't.
It's a matter of design. Same with houses; some have doors in dumb places, some don't.
Our schooner had a curtain for the head/shower in the main salon and a door for the engine room. Heeling made the curtain interesting to use. The only other doors were the cabinet doors that lined the exterior cabin behind the salon bench seats. They had finger holes with finger catches inside. No protruding hardware and nice positive locking when heeling.
-Will (Dragonfly)
-Will (Dragonfly)
I use the "mushroom type" velcro, both sides look identical and under close inspection the individual vel's (or is it cro's) have a mushroomed tip. The O'Day 28 has a bi-fold door to the head and v-berth. There is a set top and bottom against the bulkhead to door inner half, and another set where the door folds againt itself. I find it useful for privacy when guests change forward, and when heating the v-berth area, I can close off the forward area and only heat that section.
OMG!! Too funny. I remember my Jimi black light poster!! I'm having flashbacks now. Thanks a lot!!KG. It sounds like your morning coffee is spiked and your capturing a Bohemian streak of rebellion. I am visioning doorways of cloth and beads on your boat. A Haight Ashbury second story flat vibe. Psychedelic posters. Jimmy Hendrix playing loud.
Total rebellion.
With out doors how do you keep the crew in their space?
We have a nice magnetic door holder (that's on a small post) to keep the forward berth door open. I can then easily close it if I'm standing up to walk the forward path around the salon table that otherwise is blocked by that door. It used to be a PITA when it had the hook and eye holder at the bottom of the door. This is on our B35, so probably similar to yours.
As a charter boat, I don't think our guests would be very comfortable without doors on their cabins or head. The noise factor would rise greatly if we had no door on the engine room, as we have 2 diesel engines in there.
If one is leaving hatches open at night for ventilation, sleeping cabin curtains wouldn't afford much privacy as they blow in the wind, whereas a door can be partially latched open, allowing the breeze and privacy.
Over the last 10 years, I've learned to avoid getting hung up on the door knobs just as I have learned not to stub my toes on the cleats and other hardware on deck. I believe it's called situational awareness.
If one is leaving hatches open at night for ventilation, sleeping cabin curtains wouldn't afford much privacy as they blow in the wind, whereas a door can be partially latched open, allowing the breeze and privacy.
Over the last 10 years, I've learned to avoid getting hung up on the door knobs just as I have learned not to stub my toes on the cleats and other hardware on deck. I believe it's called situational awareness.
