Re-Doing The Companion Way

The rebuilding of the companion way was done in the summer.  I am attempting to write some back posts for project that have already been completed. 

The companion way of the boat needed to be redone.  The original hatch was removed by another owner.  A strange bubble top was added. I would have preferred to have the original top, however the bubble top has the advantage of adding head room to the galley of the boat.  Also the present companion way hatch is made from Styrofoam. It is light and offered good insulation during the winter months.  The negative part was it was ugly, its huge and hard to hind (3 to 4 feet high ), and it offered no security if you wanted to brake into the boat ( not like we keep anything of value ).


My first attempt was a complete failure. I rebuilt the same door with wood and kept the original design. I miss calculated the height and it had the same issues as the original. I trashed the concept and wanted to go back to the original style with sliders that can be put away when the boat was under way. The bubble top made it impossible to have sliders so I needed a new design or replace the bubble top. Not really an option as the original top was thrown out by one of the previous owners.

The new idea was simple. Put new rails on the side and bottom of the hatch. Have the top of them on hinges so that a slider can be placed into the hatch and pushed down one at the time. When the last one is put in the hinged rails fold back down and lock. Time to build a plan and a template.

The Template fit well. Now it is time to build the new door from real wood. Jean will stain them and i will assemble them. Working with a jigsaw is difficult and I really need a circular saw. I installed some brass hinges and locks and it looks great.

The final product a vast improvement from the original.

Building A New Cockpit Floor

Update: New blog editor. Microsoft Writer.  I can use it with my Windows Eight Tablet and it works great.

The old cockpit was soft in  some places. The previous owner painted it ( nicely ) however the damaged was still there under the paint. I could feel it. Plus it didn't look boat like. We needed a new floor.

I used a paint stripper to pull up the old paint. Being careful not to strip the gel coat or fiberglass.  Used a wire brush and paint scraper.



Exposed the damaged floor. Its not that bad. The gel coat is damaged, however the fiberglass looks ok. But ugly.


We patched it with gel coat and sanded it down. Stronger and needs a paint job. Big time. 



Rather then a paint job (  will need to still do it when we paint the top side of the boat. ) We decided to build a wood cockpit floor.

We found square flooring from a re-use supply store for 1 dollar a square.  bought the whole lot ( 11 ) for 1 dollar each and drew out a plan. What worried me was the lack of right angles. its not square so i was worried I would screw up the measurements.



Placed the tiles on the dock and drew out the plan I then put it on a picnic table and cut it to size with a jig saw. could have used a better type of saw. however the lines were good and reasonably straight.  However as I didn't number each square it took a while to put it together. Was like a puzzle.
    

dropped thee final floor into the boat. happy with the results. Before and after. Much better results.