H23 Cabin Access

Jun 5, 2013
76
Hunter 23 St petersburg
Hello friends, my boat does not have the (pardon my lack of sail vocabulary) wooden slats that slide vertically to close the cabin. In the past I saw (In this forum) a very nice work done by a woodworker with swing doors but those are out of my budget now. I have considered making my own but don’t know what kind of wood to use. Another option would be to make them out of plexiglass or starboard (I prefer this option, but I was not sure about the dimensions to fit the top of the sliding hatch and to what point it should reach. Does anybody has dimensions, spares, or pictures of what I should be aiming for?
 

Dave Groshong

SBO Staff
Staff member
Jan 25, 2007
1,864
Catalina 22 Seattle
Hatch boards, companionway sliders, crib boards, many names for those, we don't have a pattern. I recommend using 1/2 inch plexiglass or 3/4 inch marine plywood, check the runner tracks to see if you can accommodate 3/4 if you go with plywood. You'll have to make a pattern, with butcher paper or 1/4 inch plywood. Be sure to cut an angle between boards that channels waters out of the boat and into the cockpit. The original boards were teak, which is nice, but terribly expensive these days.
 
Jun 5, 2013
76
Hunter 23 St petersburg
Thank you Dave, yes I had that plan. Do you know from bottom to top, where it ends? Flush with hatch slider, below it with a gap?
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
I'm not at my 23 now but if I recall the top sliding hatch has a wood strip on the aft edge that juts a bit below the plastic surface, and when that slider is all the way closed (aft) it would be just behind the plane of the hatch boards when inserted. You want the boards about equal in height and so that when inserted the top edge is just below that wood strip. In other words, make sure the strip can clear the hatch boards. In addition to beveling the edges where the boards meet so rain flows out, I would add a strip to the top board, outside lower edge that extends maybe an inch below the seam. The idea is to shield that gap so wind driven water doesn't get through the gap.