[C38] cabin top wear & fix

Thu Apr 22 11:26:31 EDT 2010

Tom,

Thanks for submitting the photo of your companionway cover!  I made one
last year, very similar except I extended the sides to cover the teak trim
running to either side on the cabintop -- don't have a photo on hand but if
anyone wants to see it I can attach one to a later post.  Our cockpit faces
SE in the slip so the hatchboards get baked all year long. This saves the
detailer (me) from revarnishing a lot of brightwork.  I also like your
ideas for keeping it in place, I've been using outdoor Velcro but it's
gotten pretty grubby.  

I plan on reworking the cover this year to incorporate a zipper down the
middle -- right now it's mainly to protect the hatchboards & keep rain out
of the cabin (cockpit also faces the prevailing storms), but I'm getting
tired of shuffling hatchboards every time we do an overnight!

Peggy
Hull #231, Point Richmond

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:17:52 -0400
> From: "Tom T." <tdtron at earthlink.net>
> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Subject: Re: [C38] cabin top wear and fix
> Message-ID: <380-22010441521752343 at earthlink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Don Strong and gang,
>
> I hesitated to reply to your flattering email but I have to be honest
with you.
>
> I was also overcome with pride that someone else fixed their boat with my
cheap skate solution instead of the more expensive "yachtsman" type remedy
using the Teflon tape to fix the friction problem with the cabin top hatch.
>
> As long as I'm being honest, I also had to learn the hard way to apply
the contact glue to assist the Teflon chair leg skids to hold better.  Live
and learn.
>
> While we are talking about the cabin top hatch, I had a really nice
addition on my boat that we loved.  I had a Sunbrella cover that rolled up
and stowed on the hatch when not needed but it acted as a door when we
needed one instead of having to use the hatch boards.  You could just brush
the Sunbrella cover aside to enter or leave the cabin.
>
> I sewed a bolt rope in the top of the hatch cover and used a plastic bolt
rope extrusion bought from an RV store that I cut and screwed to the hatch
to secure the Sunbrella hatch cover.  I had a pair of Velcro straps held
under the bolt rope extrusion to hold the cover when it was rolled up on
the hatch cover.
>
> I still have my old Catalina 27 we used to race and I will soon make a
similar hatch cover for it since the 27 is my last remaining Catalina. 
(Everyone should always have at least one Catalina)
>
> I don't know if the attached picture will show enough to give good
detail.  I had another piece of white Sunbrella lining the inside to help
insulate it and also add some brightness to the interior.  Originally I had
some 1/8" flexible closed cell foam insulation between the panels but it
got old and I had to remove it after about 6 years but just the two pieces
of Sunbrella did a pretty good job of keeping the summer heat and the
winter cold out. 
>
> We always left the hatch cover down to protect the hatch boards when
away.  With the Sunbrella protecting the boards, they were protected and
never got weathered looking again.  If you have an industrial or heavy duty
sewing machine, this is a simple and easy project.
>
> I had a piece of 3/4" PVC sewn into the bottom of the cover to hold it
down by gravity but we also had bungee cord across the bottom below the
threshold to keep the PVC in place so windstorms couldn't lift the cover.
>
> Tom Troncalli
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: D. R. Strong 
> To: tdtron at earthlink.net;Catalina 38 Listserve
> Sent: 4/13/2010 4:49:29 PM 
> Subject: Re: [C38]cabin top wear and fix
>
>
> Gawd, I am overcome with pride that somehow my pea brain came up the the
same solution as suggested by Tom (it took me a couple of weeks farting
around to get to the contact cement, I'm sure Tom saw the need for it
immediately). This really works well, 6 years now.
> regards, Don
>
> Tom T. wrote: 
>
> My 38 was in St. Pete Florida and we found that the hatch would bind up
on hot, sunny days from expansion in the sun.
>
> We also experienced wear from the fiberglass to fiberglass friction where
the hatch rides on the cabin top as many have talked about.   Instead of
buying the expensive Teflon tape, we used little 1" square self sticking
Teflon furniture glides found at any hardware store.
>
> They would not stick properly unless we first put some contact cement on
the hatch where the slide was to go.   They were still working well several
years later when we delivered the boat to the new owner last February.
>
> Tom Troncalli
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: PAUL NOTTE 
> To: listserve at catalina38.org
> Sent: 4/13/2010 1:36:53 PM 
> Subject: [C38] waxing and whining
>
>
> I'm with Charles send up your waxer Max. As for the hatch I find if I
hose the channels out on a regular schedual with fresh water the hatch
slides much easyier if I don't it binds up. I'm in the process of cleaning
and varnishing right now and had not planed on removing the teak at the
companion way this year.....However after I remove the traveler , it's only
4 more holes to drill. Well off to the boat to contemplate this new issue.
>   Paul Impulse
>
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>   
>
>
> -- 
> Donald R. Strong
> Professor
> Section of Evolution and Ecology
> University of California Davis
> 95616
> 530 752 7886
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