|
|
|
No More No-See-'ems
by Chris Caswell
Print This Article
|
Email This Article
I spend a lot of time on my boat in summer, when the gnats and no-see-'ems can drive you crazy in the cabin. But if I close the cabin door to keep them out, I begin to bake in the heat.
Like many small power boats, my folding cabin door has fixed hinges on the outer frame. I replaced them with hinges that allow the entire door to be lifted off. This doesn't affect the security of the boat, because the door can't lift enough with the upper hatch in place to come off its hinges.
I made a replacement screen door out of 1 inch teak trim that I found at a marine hardware store. Using the original door as a pattern, I cut the wood to make a frame -- and once it was glued and screwed together, it was surprisingly sturdy -- although I found I needed a crosspiece in the middle.
I didn't care about the door's appearance on the inside, so I simply stapled fiberglass window screening to cover the opening. If you want to make the inside look more finished, you can make a decorative inner frame of ready-made molding strips, then mount it over the stapled edges of the screen.
Now, I can enjoy a breeze -- free of bugs.
|
This article first appeared in the September 1, 1996 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
|
|
|
|
