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February 08, 2010
February 06, 2010
Building a Companionway Screen
It seems like
there is a serpent in every paradise, bug-wise. No-seeums, black flies, deer
flies or mosquitoes can ruin a great night spent aboard in that secluded cove.
My first solution this problem, for the companionway, was one of those screen
kits carried by most marine stores.
It consisted of
a piece of flexible screen and some self-stick Velcro tape. You peeled the
protective coating off one side of the tape and pressed around the companionway
opening. Then you peeled the protective tape off the other side of the Velcro
and pressed the screening in to that side. The screening was then trimmed to
the outside of the Velcro.
The screen was
supposed to stick to one side of the Velcro so you could peel the screen off
the other side of the Velcro. The fly in this ointment (pun intended) was how
to push that last bit of screening in place from the inside of the cabin. It
could be done from outside, but that defeated the whole purpose of the insect
screen.
I solved that
problem, to some extent, by allowing a longer flap at the top that I Velcro-ed
to the inside of the companionway hatch. It left a small gap at each top corner
that the more industrious insects could still find their way in. The other
problem was that the adhesive on the back of the Velcro eventually gave out and
I ended up peeling the screening off the Velcro instead of Velcro from Velcro.
Sewing the Velcro in place would have solved that problem but I suspect I would
have just pulled the Velcro off the companionway opening.
Clearly, a
better solution was needed. The existing companionway drop board was a single
piece unit. I decided to use that as a pattern for a simple frame. I used some
clear pine for the prototype, but it turned out so well I never made another. I
wish I had used a fancier wood, such as teak or mahogany.
The companionway
opening was a complex shape, with a flat bottom, tapered sides and a slanting
top. The pine I used was clear white pine 1” x 3”. This actually measures 3/4”
x 2-1/2”. My existing drop board was also 3/4” so this thickness worked out
just right. If your drop boards are thicker, find thicker stock to match.
I laid out each
of the four frame pieces directly on the drop board. I deliberately made the
frame about an eighth of an inch larger than the full drop board so I could
plane and sand the outside to an exact fit in the companionway opening.
Frames made from
narrow stock, such as this one are notoriously hard to keep together at the
corners. I decided to use a half-lap joint to provide plenty of gluing surfaces
to keep the frame strong and resistant to twisting.
Half-lap joints
are made by cutting away half of the thicknesses of the joining pieces.
Half-lap joints on a normal square frame can easily be done on a table saw.
This frame was a little more difficult since there wasn’t a square corner
anywhere.
I did use a
table saw, though, marking each joint and carefully setting the saws miter
gauge. After setting the blade height to half the thickness of the stock, I
nibbled away the joint, and then cleaned it up with a chisel.
This part of the
building took the longest time but paid off with tight joints. If you don’t
have access to a table saw you could use a router and a simple jig. The angles
on the jig will probably change with each corner, so make the jig adjustable.
Once the lap
joints were done, I epoxied them together. I first coated each side of the
joint with unfilled epoxy and allowed it to soak in the wood. Then I used epoxy
filled with high-density filler, mixed to peanut butter consistency, to finish
gluing the joint together. If you don’t pre-coat the bare wood, it has a
tendency to draw the epoxy out of the epoxy/filler mixture, leaving a weak,
epoxy-starved joint.
I clamped the
epoxied frame to the full drop board, with wax paper under the joint, to make
sure the frame set up flat. Once the epoxy cured, I sanded off any excess
epoxy. My next step was to fit the frame to the opening. I had made the frame
slightly bigger than the opening so I could get a good, tight fit. I used my
block plane and sandpaper to perfect the fit.
This point is
the perfect time to finish the frame. Exterior varnish or a combination of
epoxy and varnish will protect the frame. I wish I had done this. I thought I
was building a prototype to be replaced later with good wood. That original is
still in use, slightly stained with greasy fingerprints but still bug proof.
I used a small
beading strip to hold the screening in place. It was about half an inch wide, a
quarter of an inch thick and had nice edges and beading on the top surface. Now
is a good time to varnish the whole length, prior to cutting to size.
I planned to miter the corners of the beading. Remember, none of the corners were 90 degrees so even this was more complicated. I found a tool that was ideal for figuring the angles required. It is a slightly complicated looking plastic protractor. Once you set the outer arms to the angle of the joint, it automatically gives you the angle for the miter. It saved me its cost in material I didn’t waste.
I cut the
beading so that there was about a quarter of an inch from the inside edge of
the beading to the edge of the frame opening. I used small brass nails to hold
the beading in place.
I used
fiberglass screen with small enough mesh to keep out the small no-seeums. I
attached the screen across the top of the frame first. Next, I stretched the
screening down to the bottom of the frame and held it in place with spring
clamps so I could nail the bottom beading in place.
Each side was
then stretched and held in place with spring clamps. Take care to get the
vertical threads straight; don’t stretch it more to one side or the other. Once
the side beading was in place, I trimmed the screen to size by running my
X-Acto knife along the edge of the beading.
As mentioned in
the beginning, the prototype has lasted all these years, keeping those annoying
bugs on the outside of the cabin.
February 05, 2010
January 30, 2010
December 24, 2009
December 16, 2009
December 04, 2009
November 27, 2009
2010 Columbia Yacht Owners Association Calendar
Each year, I do a calendar from photos sent in by CYOA members. The hard copy calendar can be ordered at www.captnpauley.com. I also do a PDF calendar for free. Download 2010 CYOA Calendar.
