Cruising World – August 2019

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HANDS-ON SAILOR

Natural Teak to the sides.

Then I turned the hatch over

and rolled Cetol on the teak

underside. I then applied three

coats of Cetol gloss all over,

rubbing down between coats

with 250-grit sandpaper. This

produced a beautiful glossy

fi nish that further enhanced

the appearance in the saloon

when the hatch was closed.

The fi nished hatch sat in my

workshop for a week while the

Cetol hardened, and I sanded

and varnished the remainder

of the teak surrounds framing

the companionway.

When everything was thor-

oughly dry, I simply lifted the

hatch back into the left-side

guide and refi tted the right

guide—but this time I used

¼-inch stainless self-tapping

screws to fasten it to the deck,

bedding it with 3M 5200

adhesive caulk. This will be

more than adequate because

since the guides carry no load,

they just act as guides for the

hatch. I fi lled the screw holes

with ½-inch teak plugs, and

the hatch was fi nished.

Next up: Make new weather

doors.

Originally the companion-

way had two large solid-teak

washboards, which stacked

one on top of the other in

slots. As I said, they were

heavy and cumbersome, and

my wife could hardly handle

them. Then, when they were

out, there was nowhere to

store them in the cockpit.

The washboard concept is

part of a traditional design,

which hypothesizes that if a

giant wave fl oods the cockpit,

the boards would stop water

from entering the saloon.

That, of course, presupposes

the boards would actually be

in place. In practice, they are

nearly always removed when

we’re aboard because they

completely prevent access to

and from the cockpit. For a

shorthanded crew, I consider

semipermanently closing off

the companionway in this

way to actually be dangerous,

because it effectively prevents

quick access, both in and out.

Also, the prospect of a total

cockpit fl ooding is remote,

especially on a center-cockpit

boat like Britannia, with its

high freeboard and coamings

that are 7 feet above the

waterline.

I used the ¾-inch solid-teak

boards to make two doors,

which I hung with piano hinges

on either side of the compan-

ionway. One side locks with a

sliding bolt into the bottom

sill, and the other with a heavy

deadbolt into the solid beam

of the sliding hatch. We can

now easily close one door, or

both, as we wish. To complete

the job, I bought two oval glass

panels of lighthouses from

amazon.com, and recessed

them into each door, adding

a touch of elegance when

daylight fi lters through.

The doors had to open

inward due to the shape of the

cockpit moldings, so I left the

two long teak slots on either

side of the entrance, where

the washboards previously slid

into. A future owner can still

fi t washboards if desired, even

in front of the doors.

In addition to now having

a waterproof companionway

hatch, the refurbished

entrance presents a very classy

appearance. It’s our new “front

door.”

Roger Hughes is a dedicated

do-it-yourselfer and a frequent

Hands-On Sailor contributor.

SUPPLIES

AND COSTS

Cetol Natural Teak: John-

stown Distributors, $30

Fiberglass panel: Lowe’s,

$39.20

Adhesive: Lowe’s, $7.99

Piano hinges for doors:

Lowe’s, $15

Oval glass inserts for

doors: amazon.com, $85

Total: $ 177.19

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