Building A Cabin Door

   MORGANCE has 3/8” Lexan drop boards, very heavy and almost bullet proof.  I asked myself, “why do I have to lift out these heavy drop boards every time I want to go in or out of the cabin?”   I thought about that and decided I wanted to build a door on the outside of the drop boards so they could remain in place for sailing, but  use the door when in port.

  The idea blossomed into a sketch of the new door, and list of needed materials.

  I gathered my materials together.  I had to special order the bronze take apart hinges and teak inserts.

  I cut out the door on a table saw and used a jig saw to radius the top and cut the holes for the louvered inserts.

  Next came a lot of sanding and shaping.  I added stiffeners where appropriate and a lip at the bottom of the door to help seal out the draft. 

 I followed this with three coats of sanding sealer with a very light mahogany stain.  Next I attached the teak inserts.

  Four coats of Spar Varnish later I put it all together and hung it.

  The door features a cat door for the ship’s cat and heavy bronze take apart hinges so it can be removed while at sea.

Close up of the hinge

Exterior lock

Inside look

Inside look with the port open for the ships' cat "Birdie"