Hinged companionway boards

[Sven]

Over a year ago I finally got tired of trying to wrestle the 4 boards in our companionway every time we wanted to get below, or get out of the cabin. We picked up 4 simple hinges and put the boards together, two sets of two hinged boards. That little mod has made all the difference in the world in convenience; you just pull the boards up as before but fold them so you only have two to wrestle and put away.

Since the hinges are on the inside they won't scratch anything and they don't detract from the aesthetics inside the cabin. If I only had three boards I would probably replace them with four and do the same thing again. In the year+ that we've had them this way there has never been any reason to regret the mod.

Some questionable quality cell-phone pics below, if my description was confusing.



-Sven

 

[Glyn Judson]

Hinged drop boards

All, Sven is right about his neat drop board mod. Marilyn and I were at their boat for a short time yesterday and Sven proudly showed us his invention. They do indeed resuce the hassle time by at least 50% and look just fine when the boards are in place (I'd have used properly patinaed bronze hinges but that's another story). Clever boy that Sven! By the way Sven, for the life of me I can't find the photos of the questionable cell phone anywhere. Glyn E31, Marina del Rey CA, one dock away.

 

[tenders]

Damn good idea. Never seen this before.

If you had three hatchboards, what would be wrong with putting two hinges on one side (joining boards A and B) and two on the other (joining B and C) so you could fold the pieces against each other in one piece?

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Brilliant Sven!

Brilliant Sven! :clap:

 

[Frank Langer]

I have thought about Tenders idea of linking 3 boards with hinges on one side of the first two boards, and on the other side for boards 2 & 3, so they fold together. Although perhaps a good idea , I can see a couple potential problems: firstly, handling three boards at once may be more difficult than managing two at a time as suggested by Sven; secondly, it makes it impossible to close the companionway part way, as may be useful on a windy evening at anchor when you don't want to be fully closed in with all the boards, but want to reduce wind a bit by only putting in one or two boards, rather than having an all or none option.
As I have three separate boards, I am interested in others thoughts and ideas on this one.
thanks,
Frank.

p.s. my comment about the difficulty handling the boards reminds me of our recent sailing trip with my son and his wife aboard for the first time. As they were new to the boat, we showed them lots, but not where/how to put the companionway boards, as we didn't want to overdo the teaching/information.
Around 2:00 a.m., they decided to make a trip to the marina washroom, it being a warm and starlit night (and them being fairly newly married), so they got up very quietly, got dressed, tip-toed through the cabin from the v-berth, up the stairs so as not to wake me, my wife and our daughter. As they exited the boat, one of the companionway boards clattered from the top of the companionway to the cockpit floor with a great racket. :0305_alar
They and we all burst out laughing, as they had tried so hard to be quiet, and we were all awake anyway but not wanting to admit it and undermine their attempts to be considerate. Trying to move on a boat without waking others is usually not possible. Not sure how they would have managed with hinged boards....

 

[G Kiba]

Great Idea

Love it!. I always have trouble with these boards and my family can never figure out which side faces outward since i've refinished them.
I'll put this modification on the never ending "to do" list -albeit towards the top of the list.

Thanks.

Grant Kiba
'73 E-27
Brentwood, CA

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Just curious where do you guys stow your boards when out sailing or cruising? I was thinking of making a bag for them to habng in the shower but have not bothered yet as I have had other fish to fry.

 

[Frank Langer]

I store mine laid flat beside each other in the quarterberth, with a sailbag or heavy dufflebag on top to keep them from sliding around and getting scratched or banging into something while under sail. I am hoping to come up with a better arrangement eventually--I am still struggling with the relative shortage of storage space in the 30+.
Frank.

 

[Glyn Judson]

Dropboard storage location.

All, I have three boards that fit into a clever carry bag my canvas people made for me years ago. Picture two thicknesses of Sunbrella laid flat on the kitchen table. The canvas is as wide as the widest board and as long as twice the height of the three boards stacked on one another. The top piece of fabric is sewed down two sides and across the middle so that when folded on that center stiching, the two fabrics form three pockets. One board gets tucked into the first pocket, the second gets laid on the open top fabric and the third into the second pocket. When folding the two pockets closed, the center becomes another pocket of sorts. A zipper holds the whole thing closed and two Nylon strap handles allow one to carry the boards safely. For those of you left behind just after my first confusing sentence, maybe thinking of an open brief case would be helpful. The accordian file in the lid is one pocket into which the first board is stowed. Imagine another accordian file in the main body of the case, that being the second pocket for the second board. The third pocket is created as a function of closing the lid of the case over the third board that's simply been laid in. Given that the boards are safely protected from each other and that the Sunbrella is sort of skidproof, we simply lay them down in the V-berth when under way. Glyn E31 #55 Marina del REy CA

 

[Frank Langer]

Glyn, that sounds very clever! I've never heard of, or thought of, doing it like that, but it sounds ideal.
thanks,
Frank.

 

[G Kiba]

Thanks

I added the hinges this weekend and absolutely love it.
Grant Kiba

 

[Frank Langer]

Grant, how many boards do you have hinged together? Any tips for those of us who are considering doing this?
Frank.

 

[G Kiba]

I have four boards which are hinged the same as shown in the picture. I picked-up the hinges at Home Depot for $2.97 a pair. They are brass and seem to be strong enough for the application. Simply butt the boards together and mount the hinges on the side that faces the cabin.

Grant Kiba
'73 E-27