Companionway Hatch

[Gerry]

Hello fellow CP16 owners.  It is time for a small spring project.  Please give me ideas or direct me to previous forum articles about making a new companionway hatch.  Should I make a three piece unit or two piece?  What wood should I use?  What measurements for a 16?  Should I use Sickens Cetol or varnish?  Any thing that might help is welcome.

Gerry
"WyattC"

[Potcake boy]

I've always liked a transparent plastic panel as it provides natural light should you be stuck in the cabin in the rain or cold for example and have to close up the hatch. Besides I am no longer a big fan of exterior wood maintenance, plenty of other boat projects to keep me busy.

[Yamaha33410]

Mine has a tinted lexan piece as well to let in light, might not look as swanky as nicely maintained wood, but much easier to work on(no maintenance) and functions better as well

[Mas]

We have the teak/ply single piece hatch board but had a two piece tinted lexan set up on a 23 we owned. I concur with the additional light and lower maintenance aspect for such but also with the 'salty' look of the teak. If I had neither, i would get the lexan meanwhile we use what she came with. We also keep a small boom tarp in place when not being sailed that protects the companionway area so the teak is easy to keep up. Enjoy!

[brackish]

They are small projects, make a bunch of them.  Solid for storage, Acrylic or Polycarbonate for colder weather visual, screened for hot summer nights.  I prefer solid teak because of the longevity, I had teak ply and found it delaminated and the veneer wore off from repeated cleanings.

My 23's solid OEM still perfect after 12 years, however I'm letting them go back to use Semco Sealer, the two part Bristol just too hard to maintain. 



A screen panel, and on the project list is a framed polycarbonate panel: