TM has a side hatch positioned opposite the dinette so we can sit and look out the hole. It makes a very light area on the boat and makes sitting at the dinette a joy, however when the hatch doors are closed the dinette becomes the Black Hole of Calcutta. I've been working on a solution that allows us to sit in the light without a howling gale or buckets of rain poring through the hole.
Yesterday a cut to size sheet of 3mm thick polycarbonate arrived from http://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/. Very impressed with the company the sheet is cut exactly to my measurements, and it took only 3 working days to arrive!
All I have to do now is decide how I am going to fix the sheet into the hole. The current thinking is to drill 2 small hole in the sheet in the middle of each side and attach a loop of elastic, which will be pulled over small hooks inside the boat. If anyone out there has got a better idea I would love to hear from you.
ps No photo today because a clear sheet of polycarbonate don't photograph very well.
Hi Chris
ReplyDeleteI suspect your plastic window would rattle with the breeze. Have you considered fitting a thin beading of timber inside the hatch frame to act as a frame for the plastic window? I'd then fit clips to press (hold) the plastic against the frame.
Regards
Tom
Hi Tom
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, the sheet has been cut to fit from the outside. It fits the outside recess with about 1mm to spare all around so I hope the breeze will not cause a rattle.
By the way, when do you think you will finish your fitout?
Regards
Chris
Back when we had a share boat, its side hatch had a polycarbonate insert, which also fitted from the outside. On the inside, it had a wooden frame which fitted the inner gap. Mounted on the wood were a couple of handles, so you had something to hold onto when you were putting it in from the inside, and a couple of little bolts top and bottom, which matched holes in the side hatch frame, to hold it in place. I thought there was always a danger of dropping it in the cut while trying to put it in place, but amazingly it never happened!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice Tom and Adam. I went for the very simple option of 2 elastic loops with toggles which came from the local chandlers. I drilled a hole half way down the long side and 1 inch in from the edge. The holes were just large enough to force the elastic through so the loops age dripped by the hole. Two screws protrude from the hatch frame which the elastic loop hooks over. It works but it might rattle in a strong wind, we will see.
ReplyDeleteChris