Radical Manatee Transom door mod

Looks great! The doors and swim platform will be a huge improvement when anchoring out. What's your next project?

Ted

Great Looking Work !!!

O C Diver said:

Looks great! The doors and swim platform will be a huge improvement when anchoring out. What's your next project?

Ted

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Thanks everyone. Ted, having the boat so accessible to the water will be a fantastic addition for us. We still need to select or custom build a ladder per your design suggestion. Looks like it will have to be custom.

Next project is upper deck cracks, repairing any core issues, cracks, etc, and coating. Pilothouse windows need to be replaced, helm needs to be finished, and I might sneak a pilothouse extension in the works. Paint, of course. Also, I should add another A/C and wipers for helm.

healhustler said:

....Next project is upper deck cracks, repairing any core issues, cracks, etc, and coating. Pilothouse windows need to be replaced, helm needs to be finished, and I might sneak a pilothouse extension in the works. Paint, of course. Also, I should add another A/C and wipers for helm.

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That's all? Heck, you're almost done. Great job on the door!

Larry, it looks so good, some people are thinking 'Photoshop'. No idea where that would come from!

FlyWright said:

So tell us.....when exactly did you become 'radicalized'?

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Got my inspiration right here. When you hang out with a bunch of guys that cross oceans, anchor in hurricanes, build one-of-a-kind creations, pick fights over buttock lines and wear pink hats, radical just doesn't seem radical anymore. Joining a tough biker gang called "Wild Manatees" put me over the edge.

Great job Larry. Now can you come up with a mod for the cockpit side access (doors for lack of a word, the wedge in place hernia kits !!!) Maybe your hinged transom door eliminates the need to use them but it's a big step up to a dock from the side of the swim platform.
Ideas for securing the door closed, check out Perko Hold Down Clamp #PKO-1113DPCHR, Sea Dog Brass Draw Clamp # PHX-36 PB or just go back to the orginal bronze barrel bolt drilled for a cotter pin to secure it closed which is what we have on our Manatee transom door.

Transom door bronze barrel bolt might work placed on top of cap rail or find a larger size.

Here's what we have on Hobo.

Thanks Bill & Larry for the suggestions. The Perko clamp might do but where did you see the Sea Dog unit....can't find it. The barrel bolt desigh could also work with an extra long bolt. The well under the doors support the bottom in case of a wave strike, but the cap rail needs something broad to keep the doors really rigid against the sides. Any of those designs would work well if they were large enough.

healhustler said:

The barrel bolt design could also work with an extra long bolt. .......but the cap rail needs something broad to keep the doors really rigid against the sides.

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I think what you've done is fine! My factory "bolt " probably is not as strong as your 2 bolts. Besides, if you get pooped and the doors are thrown open, look how fast your cockpit will drain! ABYC suggests a 90 second period for draining a cockpit after a wave comes aboard. You've got a lock on that!

Larry, that is stunning. I'm not sure what type of latch you need but take a look at GG Schmidt. They make some really heavy duty transom door latches. Also a heavy flat sliding bolt.
Link: Other Products

This thread is so impressive I love seeing mods

I have a few major mods( to me) I want to make this is inspiring

THANKS

healhustler said:

The barrel bolt design could also work with an extra long bolt. .......but the cap rail needs something broad to keep the doors really rigid against the sides.

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Oh for cryin' out loud, Larry...throw some duct tape on the damn thing and go drive your boat!

I guess I jumped the gun in post #3 before seeing the full out job , but I guess I knew that if Larry was doing a project mod on Bucky it would turn out awesome . Hanging doors on something that is flat, straight ,plumb and square is no easy task . But double doors on a boat transom and overlapping each other , now that's some engineering and skill . I rebuilt my transom door but nothing like this . Nice job Larry .

May need to blow up the pick to see the latch that we have here .it is a flat bar sliding bolt . I made the caprail part of mine separate . First you have to flop the caprail portion of the door over and then open the the door to the inside .When I put the new caprail on I didn' extend it over the opening far enough to get the angle for the swing . The door caprail has stingers underneath and straddles the door . Figuring this one out made my head hurt enough .

Larry-- Given your exceptional skill with CGI, I'm curious if you illustrated your proposed idea out first in all views to see how it would all come together.

Larry, go to ebay and search "latches", 707 to choose from, the Sea Dog was in a Hamilton Marine supply catalog but I guess it was dropped out of there inventory.
Bill

Does this help?

Sea-Dog : Quality Marine, Industrial and Rigging Hardware

Kind of reminds me of the Coot's swim platform, with the middle section open to allow a subsurface ladder





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Marin said:

Larry-- Given your exceptional skill with CGI, I'm curious if you illustrated your proposed idea out first in all views to see how it would all come together.

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That's a good guess, Marin. Yes, I did. Sure wish I could have Photoshopped out the mistakes though.

Pack Mule said:

May need to blow up the pick to see the latch that we have here .it is a flat bar sliding bolt . I made the caprail part of mine separate . First you have to flop the caprail portion of the door over and then open the the door to the inside .When I put the new caprail on I didn' extend it over the opening far enough to get the angle for the swing . The door caprail has stingers underneath and straddles the door . Figuring this one out made my head hurt enough .

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Dang. Why didn't I think of that. That's a sure fire way to support the door evenly from end to end. Come to think of it, that's what I'm trying to do now with a full width hasp, sliding bolt or whatever. Smart, Marty. I guess I could still do that but now I'd have to cut back both sides of the cap rail and hinge a new, longer piece of cap rail to go past the door seam on the other. It wouldn't need to be such a large bolt then.

Walt: I guess I'm more concerned because I've bolting two doors that meet in the middle vs. one door that latches on the end. What you say is true about getting pooped though....sure would drain out quickly.

Siesta Key: You haven't seen the list of mistakes yet! The job took darned near 5 months of doing and undoing to get it right. LOL

Al: Haven't found Duct Tape in Pink!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments.

healhustler said:

That's a good guess, Marin. Yes, I did. Sure wish I could have Photoshopped out the mistakes though.

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While certainly not normally worth the huge cost and effort when designing or modifying a recreational cruiser, there is a brilliant computer program called DELMIA from the Dassault folks in France who also created CATIA, the design program we use to design aircraft. DELMIA takes the designs from CATIA, integrates them, and then shows all the places where things won't fit or will have assembly or interference problems during assembly.

It even has the capability of placing a digitally defined human with the tool(s) necessary to do a particular job in the plane where the job is to be performed. Fully animated, you can define the size of the human (fat, thin, short, tall, male, female) and then see in real time if the person can actually do the job required. Can they access the area, reach around and position the tool, can they operate the tool, can they remove and replace the part, and so on.

So long before any parts are made or any material cut or formed, we know if they will fit together correctly in assembly, and if down the line a mechanic will be able to access an area and remove and replace a component for maintenance. If problems show up--- and believe me, plenty of them do--- the problem can be designed out long before any manufacturing or assembly work begins.

I suppose it's just a matter of time before these kinds of capabilities start trickling down into the lower-tech industries and perhaps even into the realm of the DIY folks.

Going another route, a project like yours could be done--- probably not cost effectively right now--- with 3D printing. Simply design the two transom doors, complete with the mating beveled surfaces, and when you were sure the designs were dimensionally correct, feed them to a 3D printer of the correct size and voila-- a pair of perfectly fitting doors.

The college-age son of a co-worker is going down this career path. He started out building a 3D printer from scratch as a summer project last summer. He then used it to make a bunch of little parts we needed for the boat we have in this area. He's now interning with one of the top 3D printing labs in this area designing stuff like car doors and whatnot for mass production 3D printing.

Even your use of CGI for your door project is light years beyond how the same project would have been handled just 10 or 15 years ago.

Marin: I must have walked away early from this thread without reading your last post. Very good info. Thanks.

Latest evolution on this transom door mod is the new telescoping hinges, shown here. The two bigger hinge tabs are for the jamb side and are bushed with nylon inserts. The three smaller hinge tabs are for the doors, yet to be drilled. Soon it will be spring loaded and will lift the doors about two inches vertically before opening. The entire hinge pin will lift and rotate with the door while the jamb side tabs remain stationary. Length is 35 inches, all 3/16 aluminum plate & tube wall. Tube (hinge pin) diameter is 1 1/16. Doors are less than 45 lb. each. Hinges should be good for swinging door with me sitting on it.