Detachable companionway step

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
Ahoy there, Keith!
This one is for you.
Here's the pics of that detachable companionway step. Years ago I used to buy used Teak from a boat store in Warren RI.
The Teak blocks that are screwed to the under side of the step are 1 3/4" thick. The long blocks are 8" L X 2 1/8" W. The little funny shaped blocks are the same thickness and they are 3'' L X 2 1/8" W and they fit into the holes that I cut into the two fiberglass step mounts.

The wide pieces of Teak which are used to support the step, are 1" thick and the narrow pieces are 3/4" thick. These supports are screwed into the fiberglass mounts which are backed by wooden blocks on the inside of the mounts. It's pretty solid and the hold down hardware really socks it down tighter.
If I had it to do over again, I would have used a wood other than Teak. As you can see, the wood is stained a dark red Mahogany now.
When I started this project, I mocked it up with cheap wood first because it was all experimental and Teak is too expensive to screw up.

As I mentioned in the other thread, the reason for a detachable step is to get a 50 quart cooler behind that step without having to remove the Starboard mattress and slide the cooler in sideways to get it in there which was a big PITA. I'm kind of a hack when it comes to doing boat carpentry, but it was a fun project and it didn't come out too bad. Anyway, "it's good enough for government work." :D
 

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Oct 2, 2008
1,424
Island Packet 31 Brunswick, Ga
Trinkka said:
Ahoy there, Keith!
This one is for you.
Here's the pics of that detachable companionway step. Years ago I used to buy used Teak from a boat store in Warren RI.
The Teak blocks that are screwed to the under side of the step are 1 3/4" thick. The long blocks are 8" L X 2 1/8" W. The little funny shaped blocks are the same thickness and they are 3'' L X 2 1/8" W and they fit into the holes that I cut into the two fiberglass step mounts.

The wide pieces of Teak which are used to support the step, are 1" thick and the narrow pieces are 3/4" thick. These supports are screwed into the fiberglass mounts which are backed by wooden blocks on the inside of the mounts. It's pretty solid and the hold down hardware really socks it down tighter.
If I had it to do over again, I would have used a wood other than Teak. As you can see, the wood is stained a dark red Mahogany now.
When I started this project, I mocked it up with cheap wood first because it was all experimental and Teak is too expensive to screw up.

As I mentioned in the other thread, the reason for a detachable step is to get a 50 quart cooler behind that step without having to remove the Starboard mattress and slide the cooler in sideways to get it in there which was a big PITA. I'm kind of a hack when it comes to doing boat carpentry, but it was a fun project and it didn't come out too bad. Anyway, "it's good enough for government work." :D
My original reply got lost due to "cookie error". I'm not sure what that means since I wasn't baking at the time but anyway, thanks Joe, it looks great I was curious about the hardware but your pix are perfect.
Keith
 
Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
My original reply got lost due to "cookie error". I'm not sure what that means since I wasn't baking at the time but anyway, thanks Joe, it looks great I was curious about the hardware but your pix are perfect.
Keith
I don't know if anyone carries these adjustable latches anymore. I think I bought them at E&B Marine way back before "Worst Marine" bought them out. They may have been manufactured by Perko or Suncor back then.
 
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