Sliding door problems

kazenza · May 20, 2013

I have a 1980 CT Trawler with sliding exterior teak doors. The doors just slide along a brass rail at the bottom and are not hung. The starboard side rail is missing. I would like to convert all the doors to some better sliding mechanism, and was wondering about the best supplier for door hardware that will hold up to usage on marine applications to either 1. convert the doors to a hanging top roller set up, or 2. at least put better sliding hardware for the friction slide set up. Even if I keep the doors as friction slide, I need to put someting along the bottom as the doors have worn down to the point that the tops barely stay in their slot even when properly seated. Would running a strip of teflon along the bottom with a slot for the rail do the trick.

Pineapple Girl · May 20, 2013

kazenza said:
Would running a strip of teflon along the bottom with a slot for the rail do the trick.

I understand you need to put in a new track and add some height, but as to this last bit, yes. I used UHMW "tape" and it works like a charm. there have been several threads on this topic, you could check the archives.

kazenza · May 20, 2013

more door slide query

See the posts on the tape and thanks for directing me to them. My other question is whether anyone knows where I can find a replacement bronze runner strip for the bottom of one of my doors. It was removed by the previous owner. It is a 1/8 or so wide round bronze strip nailed with very small nails to the bottom of the door frame and is what the doors slide on. I can't find anything like this online.

Conrad · May 20, 2013

This topic is very interesting to us. Our new to us NT 42 has teak pilothouse doors that slide okay I suppose, but the latchbolts don't easily line up with the doors, presumably because over the years the bottom of the doors have worn down, as it is a wood on wood arrangement. So it would seem that if we were to build up the track somewhat we'd get alignment again. To reduce the ongoing wear on the doors, is there a magical solution? A bronze strip on the track? A teflon tape? Melted wax?

Conrad · May 20, 2013

Oops, I meant to mention the UHMW... that could be quite interesting.

Gulfstar 36 · May 22, 2013

I just ordered a roll of the UHMW tape from Ridout. I think it is pretty lame that they charge $16 for a $21 product.

JohnP · May 22, 2013

The sliding side door on my Island Gypsy works great. It is really a simple design.

There are two mica wheels recessed on the bottom of the door, they are about an inch and a quarter in diameter.

It just rolls in a slot on the threshold, the top has brass pins which guide the door along the top track.

The tracks are just teak and show no wear. the tracks have small pieces of teak screwed on the end to keep the door from rolling aft off the track.

It works well.

JohnP

Baggiolini · May 22, 2013

I just added the UHMW tape that I stole from Pineapple Girl II to my port door on Saturday. Works great! Way better than the 1987 wheels that fell off. Highly recommended. Thanks Jennifer!

E

supertramp · May 22, 2013

JohnP said:
The sliding side door on my Island Gypsy works great. It is really a simple design.

There are two mica wheels recessed on the bottom of the door, they are about an inch and a quarter in diameter.

It just rolls in a slot on the threshold, the top has brass pins which guide the door along the top track.

The tracks are just teak and show no wear. the tracks have small pieces of teak screwed on the end to keep the door from rolling aft off the track.

It works well.

JohnP

John- i have problems with my sliding doors too, you have pictures , please ?

_______________
Norbert

windmist · May 22, 2013

kazenza said:
See the posts on the tape and thanks for directing me to them. My other question is whether anyone knows where I can find a replacement bronze runner strip for the bottom of one of my doors. It was removed by the previous owner. It is a 1/8 or so wide round bronze strip nailed with very small nails to the bottom of the door frame and is what the doors slide on. I can't find anything like this online.

If you where in the Seattle area I would send you to Alaska Copper and Brass company (www.alaskancopper.com). I've gotten lots of misc. sized metals from them over the years. I have to think you must have a similar company in the Bay area.

Sounds like what you want is half round brass and if you found the correct size you would need to drill the mounting holes. Possibily if you can't find half round stock you could get the round stock and have a machine shop make it half round. Doubt if you will find an exact replacement ready to install.

Ron

Room Seven · May 28, 2013

Baggiolini said:
I just added the UHMW tape ... Works great! Way better than the 1987 wheels that fell off. Highly recommended.

I have 3 sliding doors on my 1978 Universal: One on each side of the house, plus one aft. Each door has two pairs of slotted wheels that run along a thin, raised metal track. The two side doors work great, but the aft door has a truly annoying habit of skipping off the track. I've considered adding a rigid UHMW strip screwed on to the bottom edge of the door frame, lapping the bottom face of the door by 3/4" or so to keep the door from moving laterally, which is what happens when it derails.

From your comment (above) it sounds as though you removed the wheels on your door altogether, and now the bottom surface of the door rides on the UHMW tape? If that's correct, what keeps the door aligned at the bottom? Is there a "channel" formed by the teak that holds it?

Thanks in advance for any info. I'm liking the idea of getting rid of the wheels but don't want to make my situation worse.

~Steve

meridian · May 28, 2013

I just purchased the small disks used on the bottom of chair legs. My doors have no sliders. I'll drill a shallow 7/8" hole in a few places along the bottem and just leave a small protusion.

Gulfstar 36 · May 28, 2013

I do have to mention that according to my shipping notice they did cut $5.50 off the shipping

Gulfstar 36 said:
I just ordered a roll of the UHMW tape from Ridout. I think it is pretty lame that they charge $16 for a $21 product.

Baggiolini · May 28, 2013

Room Seven said:
I have 3 sliding doors on my 1978 Universal: One on each side of the house, plus one aft. Each door has two pairs of slotted wheels that run along a thin, raised metal track. The two side doors work great, but the aft door has a truly annoying habit of skipping off the track. I've considered adding a rigid UHMW strip screwed on to the bottom edge of the door frame, lapping the bottom face of the door by 3/4" or so to keep the door from moving laterally, which is what happens when it derails.

From your comment (above) it sounds as though you removed the wheels on your door altogether, and now the bottom surface of the door rides on the UHMW tape? If that's correct, what keeps the door aligned at the bottom? Is there a "channel" formed by the teak that holds it?

Thanks in advance for any info. I'm liking the idea of getting rid of the wheels but don't want to make my situation worse.

~Steve

Steve, you are correct, wheels are gone, I didn't even have to remove them, they fell off! The entire door is held in by a lip of stainless built into the base. It still moves around from side to side since it is not on a track but it is now nearly silent and slides fantastically. I'm going to remove the wheels on the other side next.

Beach House did it a little differently, imbedding blocks of the "tape" in the door. Google his blog for his version. He is no longer participating in this forum. "Beach House Trawler" and then poke around a bit. His/their description is excellent.

dach side · Jun 2, 2013

What is uhmw tape?

rochepoint · Jun 2, 2013

"Ultra high molecular weight tape (UHMW Tape) is a linear polymer with a molecular weight 10 times that of conventional high density polyethylene resins. This allows for high abrasion resistance, outstanding impact strength, moderate chemical resistance, extreme slickness and superior sound dampening characteristics.
UHMW/ Polyethylene is more abrasion resistant than PTFE films. This substrate resists puncture and gouging under pressure and load. It is the ideal material for applications requiring high slip and durability. UHMW/Polyethylene is FDA approved and suitable for temperatures up to 225°F (107°C) The tape is supplied with a high tack acrylic, or natural rubber adhesive on one side."

Works great, hope this helps..

Sliding door problems

kazenza

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Pineapple Girl

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kazenza

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Room Seven

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dach side

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