Friday, July 3, 2015

Installing a Bulwark Door



Here are some lessons learned from installing a bulwark door:
1.  Install the door on the tug's favored docking side.  For a left hand prop that's the starboard side.
2. Install the door at the same time you're painting/repairing the bulwark.
3. Cutting the door out carefully will save a lot of finish work. The thin kerf of a sawzall blade creates the perfect spacing between the bulwark's caprail and the door's caprail.
 4. After the door is cutout, finish the bulwark part of the job first. The finished bulwark can then be used to size and trim the door--just don't touch the door's teak caprail ;-).
 5. Get hinges that don't have a lot of end play (i.e. axial movement between the leaves) or side play (the amount of movement of the leaves perpendicular to the pin). 'Loose' hinges will make your life miserable.
 6. Hinge the door on the forward side and have it open inwards. Hinging it forward means you won't have to walk past it when boarding and going aft toward the companionway. Hinging it to open inwards keeps the door safe from docks and pilings.
 7. Bevel cut (see picture below) the unhinged side.  Fifteen degrees is sufficient.  The door will fit tighter and look better.



8. Keep the fiberglass jam panel below the caprail. With the door closed the teak caprail should look continuous.
 9. Put a strike plate or other support between the bottom of the door and the threshold. The strike plate supports the unhinged side of the closed door. Somebody, sooner or later, will walk on the door's caprail and without the strikeplate the hinges could be damaged.
 10. Think about how best to finish-out the threshold. Big, expensive boats put in shiny stainless thresholds with the manufacturer's insignia on them. Lots of 'cool points' there. With a little forethought the same could be done here.
 11. Choose a latch that that is both effective and doesn't stick out so much that it snags unsuspecting passers-by.

Here's a list of tugs that are known to have installed doors (current 1 July 2015).  Pictures of their doors are available here: https://picasaweb.google.com/101348890828571006928/BulwarkDoors?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLWXyYeAxfWmPg&feat=directlink

LNVTSide InstalledHow Door Opens
Lady (8)port sideopens inboard and towards bow
Moby (14)port sideopens by lifting the door up and out
Titan (31)starboard sideopens inboard and towards bow
Neptune (35)starboard sideopens inboard and towards stern
Sea Turtle (40)starboard sideopens inboard and towards stern
Mocko Jumbie (49)port sideopens inboard and towards stern
Nellie D. (63)starboard sideopens inboard and towards stern
Fram (71)starboard sideopens inboard towards the bow
J. Edgar Moser (76)starboard sideopens outboard and towards stern

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