( This is a "repackaged" version of a very old web site I did about
some projects to my old Santana 2023C sailboat)

Cabin Doors

These are the cabin doors I designed and built from scratch. This was by far the longest and most challenging project to date. It is also the most used and appreciated project that I have done so far. First, I removed the teak hatchboard slots and through-bolted the four SS lift-off hinges you see here. These hinges are really cool, West Marine carries them (and their hefty price tag). The doors easily just lift off and can be stowed inside.

 

The doors overlap each other with an indented lip so they are flush on the outside when closed. A brass file cabinet lock comes down from the center of the sliding top to prevent them being opened. When locked, a small brass plate protects the wood from the locking tab sticking down.

 

The doors have a built in screen on the inside. I attached the screen to some home molding from Lowe's and made a stand-alone screen frame to screw to the inside of the door frame. This way the screens can be removed for repair with only two screws.

 

There is a wooden bar screwed to the inside of the sliding top at the front edge in order for the doors to have something to close against when locked.

 

There is also a sliding latch inside that holds the two doors together from the inside so you can "batten down" from the inside of the cabin.

 

Finally, the overall door frames are made from 3 thin pieces of wood glued together, the middle one being not as wide as the inner and outer ones. This creates a slot in each of the frame sides that a piece of plexiglass slides down into from the top of the door. The frame piece at the top of each door has the middle of the three pieces of wood left out. This is the slot that the plexiglass gets inserted into.

The plexiglass does not go into a slot at the bottom of the door. Instead, it comes down to rest on a sloping edge made from the bottom 3 pieces of wood so that rain can run off onto the cabin floor. Also, the bottom of the doors themselves are sloped "away" from the cabin entrance lip to keep rain out.