Companionway Slider Friction

J

Jongleur

.
Feb 15, 2014
180
Catalina 30 Bremerton, WA
Has anybody got an easy way to reduce
friction on the companionway sliding hatch
on a C30?

I put in some thin PVC from Home Depot. It
doesn't help much. It was easy to slide in
though.

Some suggest UHMW tape, but the turtle
would have to be taken off to apply it.
Anyone done that?
 
W

wufibugs

.
Aug 16, 2009
1,000
Hunter 1986 H31 California Yacht Marina, Chula Vista, CA
There was a thread on this a while back. I think the initial post talked about the hatch screeching when opened. I forget if the fix was teflon or butyl tape.
 
J

Jongleur

.
Feb 15, 2014
180
Catalina 30 Bremerton, WA
Ha ha ha. Butyl tape. I don't think so.

But I think I have the answer. I'll use the PVC
that I can slide in and put the UHMW tape on
it then slide it in. That oughta work.
 
CCrane2299

CCrane2299

.
Dec 11, 2010
486
MacGregor 26x Hayden AL
How about wax, as in candle type stick wax. Just open the slider and rub it on all that is exposed. I know it works on sticky house windows and does not make a mess...
 
Anonymous 121765

Anonymous 121765

.
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
The hatch sliding was always a problem for me also. The deck slide area had gelcoat wear-thru areas, add dirt buildup to this & it was a bear at times to slide.

I was repainting my deck & changing out my teak to Sensibuilt, when I came up with this idea. I thought about using PVC & looked at some other products but decided against using this, as I thought they would not last long enough before wearing out.

So, I went to a metal shop & had them cut me two pieces of 20 gage stainless steel with a mirror finish. The width was somewhere around 1 1/2" wide & I glued these in the track areas.

This was a marked improvement & lessened any wear factor on the hatch flanges. I still get dirt from time to time, but just hose them down.

CR
 
Snotter

Snotter

.
Sep 25, 2008
615
Morgan 415 Out Island Rogersville, AL
I redid the aft sliding hatch on my Morgan OI. When I took off the trim and removed the hatch I was surprised at seeing a very deep groove worn in my gelcoat. What I did was to fill up the groove with a mixture of epoxy and graphite. I then sanded to a very smooth finish, being careful to confine the sanding to just the area under the wood trim. The fix worked wonderfully and the hatch is a joy to open in close. However, when you bend over and look under the wood trim that over-laps the hatch flange, there is a black strip that contrasts with the white deck. Fortunately you don't see it unless you look for it.

I like the stainless steel strip idea. It would have to be bedded well. It may be best to glue it down with out fasteners so that you don't have to use screws that may cause friction and wear if the hatch flange runs over them. Screws would trap water so bed well.
 
B

Brad on Vashon

.
Jan 27, 2012
65
Catalina 30 Vashon
Ron seems to have always already tackled something. Your solution reminds me that on higher end boats I've been on, the hatch slide on two pieces of bronze. So same as Ron's solution. Probably a little more speedy....
 
Anonymous 121765

Anonymous 121765

.
Jan 6, 2010
1,520
Brad,

That's exactly why I used the stainless.
To find better designs you need to look at better engineered boats.
There has always been a problem with cheaper production boats.

Fiberglas sliding on fiberglas is not considered a "Bearing surface",
it's rather friction that is wearing down both fiberglas surfaces.
May as well use sand paper.

ps: thanks for the backup pal.

CR
 
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