Distortion of door frames at bulkhead- why?

[Bob Padlowski]

I have been shopping around for a Hunter 37-cutter and have noticed something odd on several boats. On 2 of them, the door to the head/V-berth will not close- the door frame contacts the door at either the top or bottom and closing it is impossible. One owner told me that it was "because the boat was on land, and the stresses on the boat wae different than when it's in the water"; he implied that when the boat floated, it would be OK.Does that make sense? Most of the 37cs I have seen were on land on jackstands or cradles, but I have only seen this distortion on 2 of the many boats I've seen. One boat even had a shallow notch- maybe 1/4"- cut into it to apparently allow the door to close, which it still would not do. I was surprised to see this problem on a boat with a keel-stepped mast. Could this be a symptom of a more serious problem, like bulkhead tabbing that's separating? All thoughts on this greatly appreciated!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Will not close where?

Bob, will it not close at the head or at the v-berth? Mine is on the cradle right now and closes to the head without a problem, just as in the water. It has never closed properly to the v-berth but I never use it for that so I don't worry about it. There are usually just two of us and we use the sliding door for privacy.I think that a lot of owners do not have cradles that fit. I know that I had to rebuild mine so that the boat sat on the keel properly. The cradle itself is just for balance. Otherwise you could get all kinds of distortion.Then there is the possibility of moisture in the balsa deck coring. That area is suspect because the dorade boxes and staysail traveler live right above that door.Also check to see if the staysail boom has been tied off in some way that could affect that area. As I said, my 1979 doors all work just fine.

 

[Bob Padlowski]

What a relief!

As Dave has said, the door has 3 positions: close off the head (fore-and-aft), close off V-berth (athwartships) and lastly the "full open" position where it is once again fore-and-aft and hooked onto the outside of the shower bulkhead. The door won't fit in the athwartships "close off the v-berth" position, as the upper edge of the doorpost on the port side catches the door and stops it from closing. It can't be forced past that position.But I am relieved to hear that others have this problem. The cradle on which the boat sits is home-made, and may possibly introduce distortion of the hull.