Aft Cabin Door Modifications

[reedbr]

The aft cabin entrance in the galley was my only concern with the C34 design when I purchased the boat a couple years ago.  I asked and most said it wasn't an issue, but it turns out to be as much of a pain as I thought.  I have three kids and that is their "room".  Kids never stay still.  Therefore, when we're in the galley the door is constantly opening and closing.  The traffic alone would be OK if I didn't get the door in my back so often.  That and you have to close them in when using the stove.  So here's the question:  

Has anybody modified or removed their aft-cabin door?    

I've thought about removing the door and putting in a curtain, but it seems a little cheesy.  If anybody's done this though, I would be interested in pictures.  I had a folding (pleated?) door and my C27 and that was kind of ill-fitting and ugly looking as well.  I thought about slicing the door in half vertically and installing a hinge, but that I would need a way to lock the hinge open for the door latch to work properly.  I also thought of moving the hinge to the other side and having it swing into the aft cabin, but there's not enough space for the top to swing in unless I again slice it in half.  The slicing would work with hook latches like the forward cabin, but it could only be opened from the side it was hooked.

Any other ideas here or feedback on modifications folks have done?

[Stu Jackson]

Brian

Interesting thoughts and concerns.  Only thing I can add is to consider hinges that are designed to be easily separated.  The hinges have a pin, like gudgeons and pintles on stern mounted rudders, so you can simply lift the door a little bit and the door comes off the hinges, and goes back on easily, too.  Only issue would be where to put the door in the meantime, but it should give you the ability to use it when needed and be removed easily when you don't.  This one's really a "Good Luck" candidate.

Stu

[Roc]

Brian,
How about cutting the door in half horizontally in the center.  When using the stove, the bottom half can be closed and the top half can be hinged so it opens inward (into the aft cabin). That way when you're cooking, the kids can at least have the top half of the door open.

Roc-

[hdevera]

On my MKII, the forward cabin door is one which folds.  You might consider switching the fore and aft cabin doors.  Not certain it would fit. If it does, I think that would solve your problem.

[reedbr]

The dutch door is an interesting thought.  The benefit is if you can cook with the lower door still opened in the galley because it only covers the oven.  We rarely use our oven.  I would have to see if there is enough room to swing the upper door into the aft-cabin though.

I don't think swapping the forward cabin and aft cabin doors would work, even if they were roughly the same size.  The problem is that the forward cabin door is a bi-fold so it can swing with the v-verth insert in place.

I found the pull-apart hinges on Perko's web site:
http://www.perko.com/cgi-bin/perko.pl?dis+149-pull_apart_hinge_info

I'm still trolling for more ideas.  Keep them coming.

[Tweetybd]

I understand the utility need for part of the door to open inwards, but it could present a serious safety issue if there was a need to quickly exit the aft cabin.

[jentine]

The simple solution is to tell the kids to stay out of their cabin while meals are being prepared.  The time can be spent somewhere else.  The C34 is not the largest boat on the water, but it has sufficient room for the children to be in some other spot than underfoot.
Jim Kane

[John Langford]

I took the aft cabin door off my 1999 MkII as soon as I got it. If you want a classier way of closing off the area that can be left up permanently and kids can easily use, try a sunbrella panel to cover the whole door way with a zipper that runs up the middle. It can be clipped to the aft side of the door frame and looks attractive.

Cheers,
John

[d14]

I have completely removed the door and the bulkheads that quardrant off the aft cabin. I constructed cupboard and countertop with the remainants of the bulkhead pieces that I removed. This new cupboard is about half the size of the settee that was within the aft cabin. To maintain the integretly of the engine box I installed stainless locks inside the engine box. The new cupboard supports the other end of the stove.

I find the V berth too small and therefore use the aft cabin. I always found the aft cabin entry and settee more of a pain than a benefit. I have toyed with installing a curtain but the wife does not think its necessary since we seldom boat with company.

The resulting galley extention has more than doubled the available counter space and storage. It has also provided a suitable location for our microwave.

I can provide better details and pictures if desired.

To date I have not

[Ken Juul]

Interesting concept, would love to see pictures.

[Stu Jackson]

Pictures would be great.  Here's how to do it:

http://c34.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=329609511&f=879609511&m=695604521&r=695604521#695604521

Stu