Has anyone made companion way doors that slide in where the boards go? or know of a place that sells them?
Companion way doors for a 1983
- Thread starter brantr
- Start date
I used 3/4" marine plywood. I made them in 2 pieces, upper and lower sections. The two sections fit into each other at an angle so that water will run off to the outside. Stained them then covered them in several layers of varnish. The upper half is narrower than the bottom half. I stapled canvas in the upper half and it covers both pieces. That was 15 years ago, it is still good.
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The basic shape is pretty easy to make. I think the most nerve racking part would be the slits in the board. Not hard to do, just lots of measuring to get it in the right spot and do it straight. Some people have used vents or foregone the slits altogether
Catalina Direct likely sells pre made ones as well
Catalina Direct likely sells pre made ones as well
These are the the plans I drew to make removeable doors for my 1985 Catalina 30. Two strips fill in the slot of the opening and are attached by screws through the hinges. The other part of the half hinges are let into the sides of the doors. The top rail is actually two 0.25" pieces, and the stiles and bottom rail have a 0.25" grove on the inside for removeable panels to slide in and out. (0.1875" works best for the panels.)
The stiles and rails are attached via mortise and tendon joints, but you could get by with half-laps. My first attempt was with white oak, but they warped badly after a few years in the Atlanta area sun. Second attempt was Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) but it is checking after 5 years in the weather. Teak or Ipe may be a better choice. The wood is 0.75" thick, except the bottom rail which was a full inch so I could carve the dolphins. Remember wood width and thickness is actually smaller than what the label says, 1x4 is actually 0.75"x3.5".
Under each removeable panel you need to drill a few (at least 3) weep holes at an angle so rain water can drain otherwise it will fill the groove in the bottom rail and spill into the interior.
On my new 1995 Catalina 36, I used PVC lumber glued up into sheets to make my prototype doors. For these I routed a ledge along the opening and glued the acrylic panels permanently into place. (In this version the top rail is one solid piece, not two.) This keeps them from getting scratched inserting/removing/storing them and removes the need for the weep holes. Removeable privacy panels were made to insert into the openings from the inside.
The stiles and rails are attached via mortise and tendon joints, but you could get by with half-laps. My first attempt was with white oak, but they warped badly after a few years in the Atlanta area sun. Second attempt was Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) but it is checking after 5 years in the weather. Teak or Ipe may be a better choice. The wood is 0.75" thick, except the bottom rail which was a full inch so I could carve the dolphins. Remember wood width and thickness is actually smaller than what the label says, 1x4 is actually 0.75"x3.5".
Under each removeable panel you need to drill a few (at least 3) weep holes at an angle so rain water can drain otherwise it will fill the groove in the bottom rail and spill into the interior.
On my new 1995 Catalina 36, I used PVC lumber glued up into sheets to make my prototype doors. For these I routed a ledge along the opening and glued the acrylic panels permanently into place. (In this version the top rail is one solid piece, not two.) This keeps them from getting scratched inserting/removing/storing them and removes the need for the weep holes. Removeable privacy panels were made to insert into the openings from the inside.
