Aft Cabin Door

[Siamese]

I'm really just musing on making a modification to my 309. Sometimes I change things just to change things, even if I think my ultimate goal is to make an improvement.

I remember seeing in another thread, that the aft bulkhead just to the right of the stairs as you're going below, can be easily removed. I see that it's just held in with screws, and is not structural. I'm thinking about removing it, along with the aft cabin door. Easy enough to hide the resulting empty screw holes and make everything look "factory" when I'm done.

PROS:
-More access to the engine. Piece of cake changing the oil filter and keeping the engine clean.
-Opens up the aft cabin to the rest of the interior and easier access to bunk.
-run a little track on the ceiling and just have a draw curtain in place of the door. track could be semi-circle that extends out a little further than the door so there would be less of a "phone booth" aspect to the aft cabin.
-We're just coastal cruiser here on Lake Michigan. We're thinking about getting 2 kayaks instead of a dinghy. We might have the option of stuffing the kayaks back there when travelling from port to port.

CONS:
-The 309 has nice teak panel doors. Lots nicer than on the Hunter. Be a shame not to use it.
-Have to relocate the grab hand that's attached to the wall to be removed.

Thoughts?

 

[jsalley]

Interesting idea. Nice thing is, if you don't like it (or when you sell the boat) it's easy to reverse. Any issues with untrimmed panel edges showing (I haven't been to my boat since reading your post)?

 

[Siamese]

Hiding the modification would be a little tricky. The good news is that the boat's interior is teak with no stain, just a poly finish, so a strip of teak would hide a lot.

A rolled up draw curtain could also hide a lot of sins with less fuss.

We'll see if I get to it this season with all the other things that like to have attention on a boat.

 

[BoxedUp]

If you go ahead with the mod, please post pics...I'm sure many of us would be interested in how it looks removed.

 

[Siamese]

Okay, there I was changing the oil on my 309, Stray Cat, and discovered that my filter wrench wasn't a good fit for the oil filter I had to remove. Grrrrr. I finally got the darn thing off, with the usual oil running down the side of the engine. So, I decided to finally take out the non-structual wall by the engine and remove the aft cabin door.

Wow, that was easy. 10 minutes, maybe?

Sorry, too lazy to take pictures, but the Catalina 310 looks pretty similar.

Disadvantages:
-less privace (assuming you require it)
-no more pretty teak panel door

Advantages:
-amazing access to the the engine...you see it from all sides...even the transmission. No more oil running down the engine when you change filters.
-it looks great
-the hanging locker is much more usable, as you can stand in front of it and back up to the companionway steps with no wall in the way
-the aft cabin now seems more like part of the main cabin. You can sit on the end of the berth and be part of the party...beverage on engine box.
-Okay, so you lose the grab handle that's on the wall, but I just grab the outer edges of the companion way to steady myself. Nor do you have the handle to hook the stairs to when you raise them to open the engine box, BUT...I've found that it's always easier to simply pull the pins that connect the stairs and get 'em the heck out of the way. I AWAYS find myself having to go up on deck to start the engine, etc., when I have the engine cover off, and it's LOTS easier with the stairs removed.
-never again will you have to unhook the door in order to open the lid to the nav table.

Fixing the holes:
Yeah, there's the rub, but it's not bad. There are two or three holes in the fiberglass floor, right next to the engine box. Easy fix is to just dab a little white boat caulk in there or put in some stainless screws with the shiny washers as a disguise. The panel at the back of the engine box will have 3 small holes in its edge where it screwed to the edge of the removed wall. I just mounted a fire extinguisher over them...looks great. Next to the companionway, there are three holes in the textured glass there. The screw/disguise would work great here, or I'll probably just put up 3 peel and stick hooks for hanging caps, etc. or come up with some other solution. Where the door hinges attach to the structural bulkhead, there will be 3 pairs of empty holes when you're done. I haven't figured this one out yet, but they're not all that noticeable. If I was to have a roll-up curtain attached here, they'd be covered. I don't think I'll do the curtain, though.

That's really about it. I'm pretty fussy about my boat in terms of function and appearance, and I'm not bothered by the screw holes...they're either covered or small enough not to bother me.

Taking out the wall and door didn't do any damage, and I could easily put them back in.

Personal conclusions:
For me, not requiring the privacy of a solid door back there, this is a nice improvement to my boat. I'm leaving it this way. I would guess that when Catalina designed the 309, there must have been discussion on whether to enclose the cabin. I can see where they might have argued that the door and wall give the impression that the boat has a true aft cabin. I can also imagine they argued that it's a bit of a phone booth (remember those?) with the door and wall.

 

[Siamese]

Update to door and wall removal:

I just got done changing the oil in my transmission. I normally dread doing it, as it's a little tricky to access.

I removed both sets of stairs and set the engine box aside. That allows easy access to the dipstick from the main cabin.

The coolant overflow container just slides up and out or its bracket and gets set aside. Removing the air intake filter housing allow even more access.

At this point the transmission is practically in your lap. Just sit on the edge of the aft berth and use a long neck funnel. Piece of cake. Of course, it's easier to check the transmission oil with the wall removed, too.