Summary
(please click on any of the pictures for a larger one - use the BACK button to come back)
The doors were actually in pretty good shape. All they needed was a stripping of the Cetol and refinishing.
The mounts/hinges were another matter, though. They were not attached very well, and the method of attachement was not very sturdy.
I wanted to have them removable so that I could bring them home to refinish them whenever I wanted. I used some good sized brass lift-off hinges.
I wanted the hinges through-bolted to the doors for strength. Self tapping screws always seem to loosen up (evidenced by the ones that were on there).
However, I didn't want to have nuts on the backside either visible, or sticking out so that the door wouldn't close flush.
There wasn't enough thickness in the teak of the doors to countersink "real" nuts and washers in the back, so I bought some stainless T-Nuts and buried them inside.
I put them down about 1/4 inch into the wood.
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Then I plugged the holes with small discs.
And, yes, I know I should have lined the grain up, but I had already put them in by the time I noticed!
The routed edge and curve is to fit the opening of the companionway which has a little recessed area. |
Here's a picture of the finished plugged backs.
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Here's a picture of the outside of the doors.
I had cut out some more "seaweed" with a scroll saw using light-colored beechwood and epoxied onto the bottom panel.
9 coats of varnish on the outside, 6 coats on the inside. |
This is a temporary hatchway cover I made to use when I wanted to take the "good" doors home to work on them.
It slides in place and is held there because the hinge "knuckles" from the doors (the half that is left on the boat) stick out into the opening a little.
The canvas cover keeps most of the weather out.
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I hinged the panels so it would fold compactly for storage.
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Lessons Learned
Varnish goes on a lot better in thin amounts.
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