Lock ideas for companionway doors/hatch

[TCL]

My boat is a 1979 Morgan 461, just purchased January 2017. The previous owner did not have a lock for the companionway hatch/doors. The marina to which I've moved the boat is less secure, so I'd like to install one.

The edge of the hatch abuts the inside of the companionway doors, so a lock mortised into the doors themselves would not prevent someone from opening the hatch. See pictures. I'd like to avoid the hasp-and-padlock solution, which looks like it would require bending the hasp to go over the doors in any event.

I'd like to see if anyone knows of or has devised a better solution for this scenario.

Thanks
TCL

[Cheechako]

So you are saying the companionway sliding hatch does not go over the doors? That's weird. Are you sure it's not supposed to go over? How do you keep rain from getting in? Trim some off the top of the doors so it does go over.

[TeddyDiver]

There's no hatch, just the doors..

[TeddyDiver]

How about a bar lock over the doors? As I understood it's used only when you away?


BR Teddy

[Cheechako]

I guess I don't understand this: " so a lock mortised into the doors themselves would not prevent someone from opening the hatch. "
But there is no hatch?
A Hasp sideways on the doors with padlock. Not that secure as it's not tied to whatever that is over the doors. ....but anyone with a crowbar is going to turn those doors into firewood anyway.

[TCL]

There is a hatch. It may be difficult to see in the photos, but the hatch (or what I'm calling a hatch) slides back in three segments. When pulled all the way forward, the lip of the hatch (or the outermost segment) does not go over the doors, it abuts the inside surface of the doors.

In my original post, the first two photos (the first of which I can't get to rotate to the proper orientation) show the hatch closed, abutting the inside surface of the closed doors. In the third photo in my original post, I opened the hatch slightly to show the difference.

Thus, if I were to lock the doors only, someone could just slide the hatch open.

The photos show that, at one point in the past, there was a hasp attached to the hatch. That may have been before the doors were made, when the original owner used hatch boards. I believe that the subsequent owner (from whom I bought it) had doors made.

Thanks

[Scot McPherson]

Well firstly...if you are really looking for security on those doors, a lock just isn't going to cut it. Look at the frames the doors are attached to...they are screwed into the house from outside. A quick run with a quiet screw gun will have that door off with little to no noise in 30 seconds.


Sure the louvers can be busted in, but at least that makes some noise.


To be quite quite honest, the only way to secure that door as is to cross bar it vertically and horizontally. that would prevent anyone from getting the wood of the door out of the way without making a big racket, and then the cross bars would still be in the way.


You only need to use them when you feel like you need them. you can just stow them at other times.

[Davidhoy]

Hi TCL,

The companionway doors on my M462 are almost identical to yours, except they are made of lexan. Planning on swinging by the boat tomorrow, and I'll take some pictures of my setup for you. I do have the hasp-and-padlock style solution you mentioned you're not so keen on, but maybe this will give you some ideas...

Regards,
David

[zeehag]

your sliding hatch should cover the doors. you can put a barrel bolt on the hatch on interior, and a lock on the doors. this is done in such manner as to allow you to unlock the doors to slide the barrel bolt open to enter.
you need to make slider cover those doors or you will have much ingress of water in rainy seasons. you will not be happy. that is your first fix if you want locked companionway.
as your setup stands, a prybar to the innards of the doors between slider an doors is a simple entry.

[Cheechako]

OK if there is a hatch now... Then trim your doors at the top so the hatch slides over as I previously said.

[hpeer]

OR put a strip of say 2" wide SS on the hatch so that it covers the doors. Then maybe you can have someone weld (or maybe bolt?) a SS hasp on a hinge onto it so that it flops down over the doors. Then the doors could have a keeper.

Not a pretty as you now have. And there might be a better refinement. But that would improve the weather resilience of the doors and provide security.

[TCL]

Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions. I'm going to keep looking/working on a solution. As I was looking at it again last week, there may be a way to lock the sliding hatch from the side, then the doors separately.

As for the hatch covering the doors, the forward part of the center cockpit is well-covered by a full-enclosure bimini and Eisenglass panels. The previous owner had this setup for more than a decade and water ingress at the companionway hatch has never been a problem. I just took it across the Gulf during, on one leg, some rough seas and yesterday experienced some heavy rains with high winds here in Mississippi, and saw no water ingress at that point in either instance.

[GrowleyMonster]

If someone wants in, they will get in. The harder it is to get in without causing damage, the more damage they will cause. So I like to think of a lock as just a symbol signifying I would rather not have strangers unknown to me as guests aboard, in my absence. So a simple galvanized hasp and a cheap brass body padlock is as far as I go. I normally don't even lock the padlock unless I am to be gone for a week or more. I want all my neighbors to be able to quickly get aboard if the boat is sinking or burning or stuff like that, or if they need to borrow something or reclaim something I borrowed. A good strong secure locking mechanism usually just ends up costing you more, both for installation and post burglary repair. YMMV.

[zeehag]

as the doors are not safely tucked under the slider, it is a lot easier to enter if you are a thief. all it takes is a good screwdriver and prying between the doors and slider. mucho damage and no safety.
if this were my boat i would first fix that deficit.
screw the rain.
it is a safety issue.
as it stands there is no way to secure your home.
but if you want to do it backwards, is your business. be ready to need to create new doors and slider for replacement after the damages are done.

[a64pilot]

I'd barrel bolt the hatch, you want one anyway for when you get into rough weather to both hold the hatch open or closed.

I would then get a real nice looking internal lock that installs like a door knob and has a combination as opposed to a key.

Even those of us with hatch boards can have the boards kicked out, one hard kick and my boards are done