Loose Stairs / Engine Cover

[waterdog]

I had a problem with the lower stairs and the horizontal engine cover being a bit loose and not having a tight fit.   I was going to laminate shims to the side but decided to go after the root of the problem.   The bulkeads to the head and/or aft cabin seem to have spread apart over the years.   To pull them back together I thought of some vertical boards alongside the door openings, but instead opted for a threaded stainless steel rod that goes right across the top forward part of engine compartment.   Worked like a charm.   Anybody else have the same issue?   What did you do or think of doing?

[Michael Shaner]

Hope the travels are treating you well Steve...I think everybody in the association is with you vicariously!

I believe I suffer from a bit of this issue as well. My bulkhead partitioning the head has some play at the bottom, and it wants to slip to the port side, encroaching on the the door opening width to the head. More times than not, the head door is more difficult to close than it should be. No issues (yet) with the partition to the aft cabin, but our boats are of the same vintage. I was pondering a method to "re-secure" the bulkhead from below. A concealed remedy if you will...but I've yet to do my homework on it. I'll bet that threaded rod did the job right on time...nice!

I also pulled a page from Mr. Ron Hill's playbook and added the continuous hinge with a "kickstand" to the horizontal engine cover lid...that would certainly settle the vibration or movement of the lid down. Makes exiting to the cockpit a breeze while working on the engine, just lay the lid back down and hop out... (bang up idea Ron!  )

[Albreen]

I have the very same problem with the loose lower stairs and the head door being very difficult to shut. I keep wondering if my next step down the companionway will be the stair breaker (never mind body parts) - it is loose at the top but better secured at the bottom. It too appears the doorframe has warped inward to create the gap on the stair side and the tightness on the door side for the head, but not the aft berth.

I hadn't thought of the threaded rod solution but in the same vein, thought to use a large bar clamp all of this winter's layup to bring the door frame back to midline a slight bit to "fix" the gap for the stairs and open up the door frame for the head door. My hope is this will create a memory in the teak that will hold up over time..........but, I wonder if this will really work. Unlike Steve, I don't need an immediate solution - our boat is on the hard for 6.5 months coming up in a month :cry4`which allows time for another approach.  I may use Steve's method if this approach is unsuccessful. Any thoughts?

[Lance Jones]

I now have a similar issue. The lower portion of the door to the head appears to be impinging the door itself. Did anyone find a solution?

[waterdog]

Lance the threaded rod works great.   A washer and and an acorn nut in the head and the aft cabin.  Now tested with 4000 miles...(oh wait no I didn't put it in till San Francisco).

[Lance Jones]

Thanks Steve,
Can you explain in more detail than in your original post?

Happy St. Patty's Day!

[Albreen]

I was a bit pressed for time last fall and didn't apply the clamps I hoped would pull the frame back into alignment. I may try oiling the daylights out of the wood this spring (wish I could use steam), slowly tighten the clamps over time applying more oil over time and have at least a month or more before launch to see if this does the trick. But, I suspect I'll be doing the same as Steve in the end.............   

[waterdog]

What you are doing is pulling the walls of your engine room together with a long threaded rod.   You want to be as high as possible as forward as possible.  

1) Play around with a piece of string to simulate the location of your threaded rod making sure you miss the engine, the front stairs, and the horizontal cover including bracing.
2) Mark the ends of the string where your holes will be drilled.
3) Drill a hole through the starboard wall into the aft cabin.
4) Insert threaded rod.
5) Make sure the other end lines up with your marking and has clearance.
6) Drill another hole through the port wall into the head.
7) Put a washer and acorn nut on one end of the rod.
Insert the rod and mark the length.
9) Remove rod and cut to length.
10) Tighten the nuts to tension the rod making your stairs snug and your head door fit make sure you are not too tight that the lower stairs are hard to remove.
11)  You may have to trim the rod more than once or use an open ended nut tensioning the rod and then marking for cutting.  This is if you follow the measure twice and cut once school.   (I attended the drill four times cut three times ah s#$t school.)

[Bobg]

I have trouble with my aft cabin door sticking, sometimes I wonder if it will open, in the latch area, I wonder if this is caused by the same problem you guys are having.  Steve, I think I got it, but, do you have a picture?  Thanks Bob

[Lance Jones]

Thanks Steve,
Mine is impinging the lower head door. Would I then move the threaded rod down lower?

[waterdog]

Thanks Steve,
Mine is impinging the lower head door. Would I then move the threaded rod down lower?

Lance,

Not likely.   The frame of the door is fixed top and bottom.  It bows outboard in the lower middle where the pressure from the stairs makes it bend.  This would cause it to bind on the lower portion of the door.   Do you have a gap where the engine cover meets the sides?   If so, the rod will do the trick. 

If you want to test the solution first, sit on your head, push your feet against the wall just ahead and above the opening for the alternator door and try opening and closing the door to the head.   Check the gap on the engine lid.  If it fixes the problem, you can just remain sitting on your head with your feet on the wall, put a rod in, or add some structure to buttress the door frame...

[Lance Jones]

Steve, I hope you mean put the rod into the wood while sitting on da head..........

[waterdog]

Steve, I hope you mean put the rod into the wood while sitting on da head..........

Lance, you can do whatever you like in your head with a stainless steel rod and your feet up against the bulkhead.  Your boat, your choice as Stu says.  Just don't post any pictures...

[Lance Jones]

Ok, did the head sit, grunt and push test....
When I pressed mid-high, nothing changed, door still would not close without slamming. However, when I pushed closer to the deck, door closed without any trouble. Is that still a problem solvable by Steve's method? BTW, there is no gap between enging cover and port/starboard walls.