Prairie trawler salon door

After finally experiencing our first trip on our Prairie, we are still thrilled with the boat. *I had previously thought of adding an opening window to the door for ventilation, but I find the door too thin for such an addition. *Now, I am thinking of changing the door altogether. *We traveled in rain from Selby Bay, South River, MD to The Solomons and found that moisture comes through the bottom panel which is just a thin piece of laminated teak for the insert. *Has any one replaced a door or experienced this dampness? * *We have an overhang from the upper helm, so the rain was not directly hitting the door, nor was the rain heavy. *It seemed to be sucked straight through! Maybe because we have a propane heater and have used it and the door acts as a wick! *On another note. *This boat has a propane radiant heater made by Therm X Corp #635. *What a joy to have quiet heat, no hot spots and no damp "boat" feel when it rains out!!!*


Our only other heater on a boat was a diesel heater on a catamaran. *Very noisy!!

Funny, that you would post this today. Just finnished talking with a boat carpenter re getting a "thicker" or stronger door. Mine has plastic on both top and bottom,just not substantianal enough. Will let you know of how decision.

Weather here in central Fl is perfect, no wind, 82,very limited dew point and clear sunny skies. Have a great cruise.

John

Glad to hear we are not the only ones with "door" problems! It will be interesting to hear what the carpenter will say! I had thought of finding a door in a marine consignment store and doing a retrofit.
Glad to hear about the fine weather! Can't wait to return to Florida or even further South and start wearing shorts once again. Although we love the heater, I am sure our two cats would love to be "out and about" on the deck when we finally leave the door open! We cannot let tem run when we are at the dock, they will jump ship! Looking forward to seeing you when we pass through your area! Donna

Hey Sortie, we are still underway and in SC heading towards Savannah. *We will be replacing our door as well since the moisture of these cool mornings seem to be sucked through the teak. *Have you had much luck re: replacing your door? *Would be interested in you results. * Perhaps when we get to your area, we can link up. *Thanks! *Donna

Straycat, Your getting closer all the time. Savannah is my favorite spot. We have been told that the door does fit properly and is not sufficiently studry enough to seal the area. Our door is teak as wll, however the inserts are both(top/bottom) plastic. The plastic is so thin as to make the door appear to be flimsy. I have asked the marine carpenter,a friend, to give me some reasonable alternatives. Having said that,I have instructed him that is not a pressing issue such as others. Will keep you posted.

Our boat is still on the hard and will most* likley get splashed in earl December.Then we still have some issues,such as new hardwood in the cabin and new covering on the cushions etc. Our canvas person is the carpenters wife. Keep it in the family.

Would enjoy likning up as you pass through. Where are you planning to stay when you are in this area?

Enjoy your cruise, it has been perfect here of late.

John

We have not looked that far ahead for a place to stay. *Any suggestions? *As for the door, Ours does not fit well and will be looking to do something else with it. *We have a gap at the bottom that has light showing through. * I believe that our berth cushions are relatively recent, but have other needs to address. *Will give you some advance notice as we would like to meet with you. *Can't wait to get home to North Port!

It would seem that the door is a common problem. We have a very poor fit as well. As to a place to stay,several options. Titus ville has a nice municipal marina and they have a protected anchorage area as well. Further down the Indian river, you can travel east on the barge canal and stay at harbor town,nice clean place with full service and a nice restaurant on the grounds. Down side is a slow trip about six mile east, then a slow trip 6 miles w to get back into the ICW. Cocoa Village, very nice marina at Whitley's marina, also a solid anchorage on the south side of the 520 bridge. Further south on the ICW is Melbourne, with several attractive options.

All are easy for us to get to, and all have good restaurants nearby. Titus ville has a great seafood place called Dixie Crossroads, literally world famous with the best shrimp,fresh caught, you can imagine. I am sure much depends on your time, so whatever works best for you, we can make work on this end.

Happy traveling.

John

Thanks John and Sue, we look forward to meeting you and will let you know what we decide to do. *At this point all I want is WARM..... 48 degrees in the AM ... inside is not what I bargained for when we left New England. * We are in Beaufort, SC.. having the oil changed today and picking up spare impellers for pump. * Good mechanic just charging for time and we supply the filter and oil. * We do not know when it was last changed, but felt we should get it done now!

We want to be home in North Port by the end of November... Stopping to see you is a must for us! * Once we get across to Fort Myers, I think it is a days trip home. *We shall see. *Have been gone since July and hate to see what our yard looks like. *! *Thanks again. *Will be in touch! *Donna

Beaufort is a lovely town, spend Labor Day 2000 there. It rained and was chilly, but we enjoyed it. After 35 years of being a school principal it was the first labor day that I had not labored,so to speak. We stayed at the municipal marina, wonderful people.

So far the weather here has been very nice,close to perfect. The am temp today was 61, the high was 79,winds at about 10-12 out of WNW, with clear skies. We took the dog for his evening walk, around 5pm and it was delightful.

Whatever you folks need in terms of location and time is ok,we can make it work somehow. I can imagine how anxious you are to get home, long time. How is the boat doing?

Take care, happy cruising.

John

did you guys come to wilmington if so you should have called. we have a newer custom teak door i have yet to see it leak ill take some pictures tommorow

Please do send some photos of the teak door or do we need to go to your site? *Thanks Donna

Hey Guys Just a heads up that we hope to be in Titusville, at a marina on Sunday AM. *Most likely will gunk hole on Saturday. *It is wonderful to be in warmer weather once more! *

We are looking forward to seeing you and comparing notes on our boats. *Can you email us with a contact #? bacchus42@mac.com.
Thanks, Donna and Rick

Just got home, we have several cruise line contracts and I have had to work this weekend.We are getting some heavy rain right now, but it is warm.

John

Hi, John, Sorry you have to work this weekend. If you get a break, we are at the Titusville Municipal Marina until Monday, AM. We missed the rain, but will welcome any to help clean the boat. We are going to install a salt water pump so we can clean the anchor. How's the boat project coming? Rick Cass, Slo Poke, prairie 29 Hull 51.

Hi Guys, Sorry we got messed up like this. Where is your next stop going to be? Better yet where are you planning on being on Wed?

Rick,the boat is in a holding pattern,waiting for me to complete some tasks. We got sidelined by some*hidden issues, like a bad shaft. We knew she needed a new cutlass, however we didn't expect the shaft issue* and then a new prop. Need to install the two new transducers, paint the bottom and launch. Expect to be back in the water by 12/10/10. Hopefully, we will be in full use by first of Feb.

My wife has early stages Alzheimer's so things sometimes get bogged down. We will get there. We have good friends in Cape Coral and plan a cruise to the west coast in April/May.

John

John, good to hear from you, and we are really sorry to hear about Sue. Let's hope for some real progress in the research, and soon! We live in North Port, about one day's cruise from Cape Coral. If you get to the West Coast, please call, as we have a separate suite for visitors, and would love to see you. Additionally, we would love to show you all of the excellent cruising grounds that exist from Sanibel to Tampa Bay. A flotilla of Prairie 29s. There is one in Ft Myers beach who has asked us to call when we get there. Anyway, we are now (Tues. PM) in Manatee Pocket, and will fuel and water for the trip across the Okeechobee tomorrow. It will take 2 days, then one day to one of our favorite anchorages, Pelican Bay, just South of Boca Grande. Then home. We've been gone since July, for a variety of reasons, including an 8000 mile trip with my brother to deliver an 80 foot scalloper to the Gulf of California via the Panama Canal. A long held dream that my brother allowed me to realize. Please call us at 941-223-3665 so we can chat. Peace, love and joy, Rick & Donna, m/v Slo Poke, Prairie 29, hull 51.

hi my wife and i purchased a 29 down in Florida last winter and shipped* it up to the
hudson River in NY this spring. Our bottom panel was very delaminated and the door needed to be rebuilt. I took it completely apart cleaned out all the joints of glue and caulk. For the bottom panel I used a very thin plywood and glued commercial grade formica using west systems 2 part marine epoxy.* While the plywood was very thin by the time the formica and west system was all set up the panel is very solid.* After sanding and varnishing the entire frame and reglueing it the door looks and works like new.
Bill






Y

Hi, Farmerbill. *Sorry to be so late in responding to your post. *It was a welcome one. *We are now back in North Port, FL, and out best Fl cruising friends just bought a 29, named Max that is in Cape Coral. It will be named Toucan. *We'd really be interested in photos of your door, and news on any work you are undertaking up there in the frozen tundra of New York. *As more people get in touch about the Prairie 29 and the Atlantic 30, it might be useful to develop a site here to compare notes and advice as well as cruising plans. *We are still amazed by the jaunty and seaworthy way she handled on the way down the ICW. *Good luck, and stay warm. *Rick & Donna Cass, Prairie 29, hull 51, Slo Poke

Rick,

Talk about a slow response, I think it was last spring when I last got on this site! As you may imagine out 29 is shrink wrapped for the long frozen Upstate NY winter. Up here we cruise the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers (Erie Canal) they take us into a number of lakes including Champlain to the north.* I'll post some pictures of the door next spring when we unwrap her. Basically I used 1/4 inch marine plywood and commercial formica on the interior and exterior bottom panel. The West system really worked well and the door is extremely strong. We really enjoyed the former "Orca" for the first winter when we bought it in Clearwater Fl. We get a good 6 months or a little more of boating*in NY. Getting ready to head to our winter house in Cozumel, when we return we'll be unwrapping the now "Una Mas" and I'll post pic's. Take care

Bill & Cyndi Miner