Hi all,
We have a
steel sailboat with very little
wood apart from the tiller and the turtle
hatch housing (the part into which the
companionway slider goes). While it is pretty, we have no attachment to the
wood.
We frequently have need to stand on top of the turtle housing (right in front of our
canvas dodger) when tending to the
mainsail and we don't like the flex we feel under our feet. It needs attention, and we are entertaining our options replace the wood with
steel.
We have need to engage a welder on a couple of other projects in the spring, so are doing a bit of
research now. We'd like for the new housing to be lower profile, less boxy and perhaps even nice to look at--possibly even...artsy?
Generally seeking ideas, links, photos, feedback. Does anyone out there have a steel
hatch housing? Or had to replace one? If you've done this, do you have any words of wisdom? Ideas? Suggestions? Apart from the cost of the steel, is this a highly time-intensive
project for a metalworker?
A couple of things that probably don't matter, but may be worth mentioning:
- To remove the existing turtle "shell," we'll have to remove our interior t&g ceiling+insulation (an involved job). I'd guess we could take the entire shell to a metal worker for use as a pattern.
- The slider itself is also steel, and we will be fitting it with a lexan skylight/window this spring.
Thanks!
Suz