door latches

[Marshall Tonner]

I would like to replace my door latches, but am confused as to wether I have regular or reverse bevel.I suspect reverse!

[Marshall Tonner]

Sorry I should have been more specific. I'm after the latches for the head/aft cabin doors

[Mike and Theresa Vaccaro]

We replaced the latch on our head door--it was a "reverse" bezel as you guessed.  Don't know about the aft cabin door.  Took a bit of comparing with the photos in the catalog to sort it out.  Also found out that the reverse bezel is not normally "shelf" stock--we had to order it.

Cheers,

Mike

[Jimlad]

hi there - which catalogue did you refer to to get the info on the cabin door latch?

[Ron Hill]

Marshall : What I found with my 2 door latches (aft cabin & head) was that the spring in the latch had weakened!!  New latches are expensive at about $50 each!!
I contacted Perko (maker of the latches) and talked to their customer service.  Perko sent me 4 or 5 new springs for free - which I installed.  The latches now work like new!!  A thought.   

[Stu Jackson]

Marshall, I recommend a search on "Perko" - while you may have to go through some posts about 1-2-B switches, there are MANY door latch posts.

[frankr]

Perko Elbow latches that hold the doors shut - about $3.50 each


http://www.reddenmarine.com/site/new-detail.cfm?id=PKO1021DPBLK

[Chris Martinson]

Ron:

I have the same issue I believe...bad springs....do you have any more specifics on the springs...when I called Perko I didn't have enough.  thanks

Chris
More Therapy
#945

[Ron Hill]

Chris : Look in a West Marine catalog and get the correct model # for you Perko door latches (aft cabine/head) - that's what I did.  Then when you call them you'll have the correct numbers.   

[waterdog]

While we're on the subject of cabinet door latches (and I realize that we are not on the subject of cabinet door latches), I never liked sticking my fingers into holes to find little elbow catches, which were mostly broken on my boat.   Found some push button cabinet latches that fit the finger holes exactly (OK 38 seconds of work with a file).    Push button knob pops out door is unlatched and can be pulled open.  Close door push knob in until flush and door is latched.   The marine store had two versions: a chrome plated brass version ($23 cdn) and chromed plastic version ($12).   I put expensive ones on the locker near the nav station and the head and cheap ones in the less frequently used cabins fore and aft.   The all metal were an easier install.   

http://www.sea-dog.com/PDF/225300.pdf

[Ken Juul]

I took the latch missing the spring off the door.  Browsing the brass spring collection at Ace Hardware I found a replacement in about 3 tries.  Bought $1 worth, can replace them all a couple times before I have to restock.

[Mike Vaccaro]

You do have to carefully match the latches on the aft doors--I broke the head latch and believe that it was the reverse bevel type.  I also seem to recall that there is one of each, i.e., the aft compartment door is the normal bevel type. 

Cheers,

Mike

[Roland Gendreau]

The perko latch on our aft cabin door failed and the door was therefore locked shut because it was not a reverse bevel type. When that happened I was fortunate I had left one of the aft cabin windows open - I could reach inside the cabin with a very long handled screwdriver and pry the latch and door open.  I replaced the latch assembly with the reverse bevel type so that if it ever happened again, the door can be pulled hard enough to open the door. It is a big safety issue otherwise.

The cause of our latch failing was breakage of the   fingers inside the latch that pull the latch in and out.  Those fingers are made of something like white metal, which is a shame considering the cost of the latch.

Roland Gendreau
Gratitude #1183