Sliding Door near the Helm is not Sliding...

[DBG8492]

I did some searches for this and came up empty, so here I am, hat in hand - again.

As the title says, the sliding door next to the helm no longer slides. Well, it slides *sometimes* and those times are sweet indeed. When it doesn't, it's like wrestling a bear.

I figured out how to get the door off - there are teak plates top and bottom, and if you remove them, it seems like the door will slide out easily.

My question is about the sliding mechanism - which is where I'm guessing the problem lies. It looks like the top and bottom pieces - the "sliders," as it were - are just teak pieces with grooves in them for the door to slide on - is that really all it is? My Marine Trader had little wheels on the bottom of the door. Anything like that in play here? Because sourcing those was a pain, and the ones I ended up with didn't really last.

Just looking for insight because it's one of the things on the Admiral's list, and I'd like to know what I'm getting into before I commit and take the door off to look.

 

[DeanOz]

I have the same issue. I haven't done anything about it yet, but I think a strip of aluminium channel would allow the wheels to travel smoothly. I stripped back the timber to bare and laid it up with varnish, which helped for a while, but to open the door now is another one of the quirks within the old girl. I'm going to tackle that in the coming months as the weather cools off down under.

You are right regarding the wheels at the bottom of the door and I take it yours are still there?

I also stuck door trim to the side to stop the breeze coming in:

It works well and the bronze colour blends with the timber.

Good luck!

 

[Comodave]

I made a door out of 1” Starboard for a boat a long time ago. I used UHMW plastic for the track. The Starboard sliding on the plastic worked well and never had to find replacement rollers. I routed a dado in the bottom of the door and made the UHMW track the size for the door to fit over. Left a little slack so the door would slide easily. Salt water didn’t have anything to corrode.

 

[jgtrucking]

There are rollers top and bottom in the door. They are a plastic type material. I serviced them and lubed them last time I had the door off, but will likely need to replace the wheels next time.

 

[Bmarler]

My pilothouse doors have saddles (like an upside down u shape) that slide on a uhmw rail. Simple and effective.
The whole key to using sliding elements is to use dissimilar materials. If using plastics, use a harder shoe and a softer rail or vice versa.
I dislike rollers. Crud builds up at the axles and makes them hard to spin, or bits of debris on the lower track make for a bumpy ride.

 

[DBG8492]

I've been buried in other things, but the door is still on the list.

We postponed our loop trip for a year, so we're not in a time crunch anymore. We were able to move some projects into the future and lower our stress levels.

The loop will still be there next spring.

 

[Capt Ray]

The Mainship 390/350 has 2 sliding doors. One aft under cover of the sun deck, and more or less protected from salt water spray. (Most of these boats were built in 2000 +/- 4 or 5 years.)

The other one is on the starboard side next to the lower helm, which gets a fair amount of salt water spray when underway several times per year. The rollers are mild steel / carbon steel... that love to rust.

I have NO IDEA, if your boat has the same "rollers" as ours. But here are the details for you.
Prime-Line # D 1758
These are not available in stainless steel... from this manufacturer, or any other that I know of.

If you take off your door and you find a pair of bottom rollers like these, these details *may* help you. Prime-Line has several different other model numbers (which may complicate your search for the *right one*.
Also: Delivery may be "long"... as I found them relatively hard to source a year or two ago. But they are out there for sale if you are willing to wait a bit.

Also, some pics here:
Mainship 390 STBD sliding door repair

Generous amounts of waterproof grease on a new install is recommended. As well as drilling a grease access hole for periodic re-greasing, and some type of very heavy duty tape to cover that hole when the grease job is done. A semi-permanent adhesive + cover over the grease hole could also work.

Good luck!

 

[DBG8492]

The Mainship 390/350 has 2 sliding doors. One aft under cover of the sun deck, and more or less protected from salt water spray. (Most of these boats were built in 2000 +/- 4 or 5 years.)

The other one is on the starboard side next to the lower helm, which gets a fair amount of salt water spray when underway several times per year. The rollers are mild steel / carbon steel... that love to rust.

I have NO IDEA, if your boat has the same "rollers" as ours. But here are the details for you.
Prime-Line # D 1758
These are not available in stainless steel... from this manufacturer, or any other that I know of.

If you take off your door and you find a pair of bottom rollers like these, these details *may* help you. Prime-Line has several different other model numbers (which may complicate your search for the *right one*.
Also: Delivery may be "long"... as I found them relatively hard to source a year or two ago. But they are out there for sale if you are willing to wait a bit.

Also, some pics here:
Mainship 390 STBD sliding door repair

Generous amounts of waterproof grease on a new install is recommended. As well as drilling a grease access hole for periodic re-greasing, and some type of very heavy duty tape to cover that hole when the grease job is done. A semi-permanent adhesive + cover over the grease hole could also work.

Good luck!

Awesome!

Thank you!

 

[sjnssn]

I bought mini SS bearings and went to a metal shop and installed the bearings in brass rings. Five years later they still work great. Accually too well, have to use a door stop to keep it from rolling open or closed.

 

[Comodave]

If you have steel rollers then maybe make something out of UHMW plastic so you don’t have to keep replacing them.

 

[sjnssn]

? if plastic will last as long as "SS"

 

[Comodave]

UHWM plastic will last a very long time and is pretty slippery.

 

[Bmarler]

Uhmw is a good choice for a sliding element, but a load supporting roller made from it may deform more than other plastics.
Delrin or nylatron would be a better choice.
I like the idea of the little bearings, either in stainless or ceramic. Just be sure they’re sealed so they keep out any crud.

 

[Bmarler]

Another thought just crossed my mind. I have sliding doors on either side of my pilothouse. I like them with the sliding elements they have because I can open them to any position and they stay there. Rollers wouldn’t be good for me unless I had some way to lock them in partially open positions.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Our pilothouse doors hang on rails by wheeled "hands" with the bottom of the door secured by pins in a grooved metal strip. The gremlin that lives in that groove securing the port door often rears its head requiring some coaxing to get the door to open. The gremlin appears to be asleep this winter as the port door slides freely. Maybe the gremlin moved to a neighbor's boat?