3-part door?

[Bigjim]

My Cal 27 has a 3-part door. I find this design very inefficient/inconvenient. I'm concerned that one or more pieces will fall out during a knock down or heavy heeling.

I'm thinking of replacing it with a one or two-piece design, with some catches or latches to keep them in the slots.

What kind of door do you have? How do you like it? Any special modifications or latches to keep them in place? What would you change if you could?

[Cheechako]

It's nice to have the bottom board in during rough weather but still be able to step over it. If the weather is rough enough just slide the hatch cover back to prevent them coming out..... good idea anyway.

[Sea Dreaming]

Our mac had a 1 panel slide in....not good, not good at all! Might be alright if you can use it for a cockpit table too..but that clunker is hard to store when it's out!

[Cheechako]

I really prefer swinging doors with lift off hinges. Very handy for 98% of the time. We also had rough weather drop boards stored, but they rarely came out.

[um saudade]

I have batwing doors on my hatch and I love them for in port or at anchor but would not sail with them installed.

I have the conventional three drop slide arraignment(weather boards) for sailing and find it works well. One slide for iffy weather, then two, then the third. All slides should have a way to be secured in place but if you do a knockdown with just one slide in place, losing that slide is the least of your problems with a big hole where the other hatch slides should have been anyway………….

I have a Sunbrella cover for the hatch that snaps securely to the sliding hatch on top and then can be snapped to the teak that surrounds the sides and bottom of the weather boards. I use this cover often in rough or rainy weather as it keeps the rain and occasional breaking wave out of the cabin without having to have all the slides in place. This cover is secure enough and durable enough that with the top hatch secured in place, the Sunbrella cover would prevent the lower slides from washing or bouncing out in most conditions.

When it gets really rough and I go bare poles and tiller lashed, I have a middle drop slide of clear acrylic I put in place. Does everything the regular slide does and you can see out into the cockpit. It also works for security purposes when anchored in dubious places, as it allows the cabin to be locked from below, but I can still see anything that’s happening in the cockpit.