Does anyway sell replacements for under $500 anymore? The only source I can find, custom makes what I've commonly called crib boards for over $1000. I own an O'Day 26 and am seeking replacement teak louvered companionway boards/doors.
Look for a material other than Teak which has gotten ridiculously expensive. Sapele, Iroko, Balau...,
a friend made a beautiful set of louvered teak companionway boards for his beneteau 40 . it took about 35 hours...
A different take .
On our Oday we replaced the hatch boards with 3/4" polycarbonate .It might have been lexan . They allow a tremendous amount of light in . Looking in from the cockpit ,it shows nothing worth breaking in for.
We are making a second set that will get tinted and have passive vents for keeping the cabin dryer . In fifteen years no yellowing has occurred and nothing has chipped .
On our Oday we replaced the hatch boards with 3/4" polycarbonate .It might have been lexan . They allow a tremendous amount of light in . Looking in from the cockpit ,it shows nothing worth breaking in for.
We are making a second set that will get tinted and have passive vents for keeping the cabin dryer . In fifteen years no yellowing has occurred and nothing has chipped .
Well in my defense ...the lexan was custom fit for the boat and it was free ... I certainly wasn't going to say no .
D&R Marine sells a 2-piece "smoked Plexi" set for $295.00 or a 2-piece Teak veneer Plywood set for $160.00
Of course, if you don't live close enough to pick them up at his store, there will be shipping cost, but Rudy often finds ways to reduce that cost.
These would be pretty close to OEM or better, as Rudy Nickerson is the former Parts Dept. Manager for O'DAY and now runs a little shop in Assonet, MA supplying replacement parts to O'DAY Sailboats.
www.drmarine.com or (508) 644-3001 Even if you did order on-line, it is always worth following up with a phone cal lto confirm the order and investigate shipping options.
Of course, if you don't live close enough to pick them up at his store, there will be shipping cost, but Rudy often finds ways to reduce that cost.
These would be pretty close to OEM or better, as Rudy Nickerson is the former Parts Dept. Manager for O'DAY and now runs a little shop in Assonet, MA supplying replacement parts to O'DAY Sailboats.
www.drmarine.com or (508) 644-3001 Even if you did order on-line, it is always worth following up with a phone cal lto confirm the order and investigate shipping options.
I'd probably make my own out of BS1088 okoume or meranti ply. Cut 45º angles for the joins between boards, with the angle down and out, to shed rain. Probably thin angled router cuts with plunge router, again, down and out, with screening attached to the inside. And I'd varnish them. Alternatively, you can get SS louver grilles that you could install in the boards. (I don't have a plunge router, so I'm not sure how viable angled cuts to create louvers would be, and to some extent would probably depend on the thickness of the ply, with thicker ply being more effective at keeping out rain.)
Brian, the cuddy enclosure panels for my DS II are 3/8" teak plywood from D&R and Rudy uses his table saw to create angled slots for ventilation in those. It appears that my originals from 1979, made by O'DAY are made the same. Plunge router works good but might require making a jig to get the angles? So, table saw can be used instead. (slots are longer "inside" than "outside" and there is a radius to the inside ends of the cuts when using a table saw (or circular saw) , but still works! The outside picture is of the original panels (I've since replaced them with ones from D&R) but the slots show up better in this pic that the one I have of the newer panels, the inside view is one of the newer ones, the slots do show up pretty good there.
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Sunbird, I have to remember this, because you're right, a table saw, or a couple stacked to make a dado, would make nice cuts!