Screens for hatch and companion way

[billdre]

Although we've never really had too much bug trouble in marinas or anchorages we like to have the front hatch and companionway covered with a screen to keep out bugs. I've seen a number of heavy "construction" versions trying to mount screens. My wife came up with what seems to me a very simple and effective way to keep the bugs out and looks good.
This amounts to attaching a heavy duty strip of Velcro, self-stick, to the area around the hatch. She has then stitched the other half of the Velcro to the properly sized screen. (The self-gluing version doesn't work on the screen and created problems sewing the Velcro on.) She additionally covers the back of the screen attached Velcro with a navy blue ribbon to give it a finished look. Attached are pictures with the screen in place and not in place over both hatch and companionway.

[exMaggieDrum]

Nice installation and design. But I have found the heavy duty Velcro to be very aggressive in its hold, to the point I have worried about damaging my headliners to pull them down. Probably OK if you only use it with small pieces a few places around the screen.

[Steadman Uhlich]

I just finished cruising on a boat in Newfoundland, where the mosquitos in the remote anchorages were large and aggressive.

The boat I was on had a very simple "bug screen" contraption for the companionway hatch.

It consisted of a simple wood dowel at one end of a long continuous strip of mosquito netting, with another wood dowel at the far end of the net. The net was cut to cover the width of the hatch. The first (top) dowel was fixed to the hatch (probably with Velcro).

To use the netting, one simply opened the hatch, and unrolled the netting off the dowel, by rolling the dowel along the hatch, then letting it drop down the companionway (vertical portion) to where the hatch boards would normally be in place. The weight of the wood kept the net close to the hatch opening sides. When dropped, the net was on the outside of the hatch slides and where the hatch boards would drop. It completely covered the hatch in a long single piece of net. This worked whether one or more or no hatchboards were in place.

It was very simply installed, effective, and easy to go inside and outside by simply pulling back the netting or rolling it up and then letting gravity drop it down back in place. Simple.

[billdre]

Maggie, you're probably right about a headliner the heavy duty Velcro glue is very strong. Our boat doesn't have a headliner, just hard gelcoat so I can use a razor blade and acetone to remove old glue if needed.

[Captain Bill]

I made a companionway screen by getting a piece of heavy mesh material from a local sewing store and a length of stainless steel chain (1/8) from a hardware store. I sewed a pocket into the edges of the screen a little bigger than the chain links except at the corners. I fed the chain in one piece through the corners then hand stitched the corners closed and put a few stitches through the links in the corners to stop them from shifting. The weight of the chain holds it in place and conforms it to the edges of the companion way. My companion way is not perfectly vertical so it works well. If yours is perfectly vertical that may cause a problem. I also have some similar ones for my hatches though they are a bit more complicated. Since they are held in place by the weight of the chain they are also very quick to remove from inside the boat when the inevitable 2:00 am rain shower shows up.

[Lake-Effect]

I know that many people have made effective barriers from screen and velcro, or baby-buggy bugscreens. For our small boat I opted to make up a second set of screened hatchcovers using thin plywood for the framing. I was even able to make a curved frame that fits snugly in the forward hatch. It was considerable effort, but they are really easy to deploy and remove, and they've lasted 5 seasons of infrequent use so far.

[Joel E Felt]

screen and some gorilla tape


joel