warped cabin door

K

KickerDRB

New member
All,

While chasing down stray water in the cabin I found the cabin door to be slightly warped (2005 vintage). The bottom on the latch/handle side is bent about 1" out and does not touch the weatherstripping. The latch locks up tight and has great squeeze on the weatherstripping. The top and bottom corners (latch side) flex some when pushed on but the main offender is the bottom corner.

So after a few beers I came up with the following potential fixes.

1.) new door -- nope too easy and probably a pain to ship.

2.) add more weather stripping -- nope, probably look bad / fall off and make the root problem even worse

3.) Try to cold form the door back into shape ( throw a 2 x whatever scrap of lumber against the bulkhead and latch the door all the way open, bending back to shape maybe even assist with a ratchet strap) -- maybe

4.) Take it off and hit the latch edge and one door face with a router and glue/screw a strip of angle stock from top to bottom. -- maybe

Has anyone seen a similar problem? Any advice?

thanks,
Dave
 
Most of that vintage C Dories have "Starboard" doors. These will take a set, and may not lay fair. Probably the best way is the simplest and that is to use a thick weather seal, and seal the part that is leaking. Also you can get a full boat cover, a camper back or slant back, to keep water out of the cockpit and door.--not a bad idea. the slant back is cheapest and easiest to use. I have all 3.
 
I'm betting that the door can be straightened out with heat (assuming it's starboard). If you can find a nice flat surface on which to lay it and you can weight the door down AND you can somehow get the door warmed up, then I'm betting you can get the door straightened out. Starboard doesn't get really soft until about 250F (according to the material specs) but it deforms under pressure at much lower temperatures. It can be bent by heating it up to 210-220F with a heat gun but that's impractical for a large piece. Also, it will deform at lower temperatures (like 150-170F) if left at those temps for a longer period of time. You could probably put it on a flat piece of concrete inside a garage and lay a heavy sheet of steel on it. Put some hot bricks on the steel until it gets warm and that might work.
 
Dave-

I imagine the door can be un-warped back into being nearly flat with time, heat, moisture, and physical encouragement (pressure).

Get a stainless piano hinge long enough to extend above and below the door about 4 inches and mount it to the right of the end of the door and jamb.

Add an aluminum or stainless panel to the left section of the hinge wide enough to cover the jamb area and the first 2 inches of the door.

Add hardware, such as sliding cross bolts, at the top and bottom above and below the door to allow the aluminum/stainless to force the door tightly closed and lock it into position.

A hasp and padlock could instead be used to add security if so desired. The metal panel adds security to cover up and prevent tampering with the existing lock with this locking feature above and below.

The door should eventually drop the 1" warp and return to normal as the daily cycle of heat, moisture, and new added pressure do their work.

You also may have a more secure door, and a very functional weather cover to the outside of the jamb.

I'd also add some catch hardware to lock the metal panel in the open position when using the boat.

Just another suggestion!

Good Luck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
My 2002 CD-22 had the bottom opening corner of the door ("starboard" or plastic)warped out about a half inch. I could easily get it bent to eliminate the gap by blocking the door open above the gap with a 2x4 and wedging a long 2x4 against the stern and the bottom corner of the door, leaving the blocks in place for a few days. Of course, when I removed the blocks the warp returned in a week or two. I would guess a heat gun applied in the warped area when blocked might give a permanent solution. I'll try this next summer. For the past 10 years I've used extra weather stripping in the warped area for a good seal (need is for bugs more than anything else).

Jay
 
I would be careful with a heat gun--the technique by Joe with prolonged gradual and low heat would be better---but the warp may return. The other possibility is a strong back on the inside screwed in place to keep it flat....There are down sides to this also, such as space taken up. I have a piece of 1/1/2 x 1 /1/2 L steel in the RV for the "mud flap), and when I saw it yesterday--there is the answer--but not something you might not want on the door...Starboard, .SS or Aluminum might be better.
 
Bob is onto something there with the strongback idea. I would look also for a nice looking piece of edge grain fir or oak 1 x2 on edge perhaps 4200'd to the door near the edge to supply tension. I stiffened cabinet doors in my last sailboat with a similar idea. George
 
We have an expensive explosion proof refrigerator in the lab and the upper left hand corner developed one inch gap. We added 1" wide Velcro tape at the corner (8" across the top and down the side and below the door gasket). After several weeks, the gap was gone and removed the Velcro. Maybe this will work.
 
Interesting about the velcro--so it look relitatively little force. One of the problems with Starboard is getting various glues and adhesives to stick to it. I suspect that the 4200 would not adhere adequately. I have used 5200 with multiple undercuts and dovetail cuts to make small areas for the 5200 to adhere to--but I would use bolts as well as the adhesive.
 
Dave,
We have a 2006 C-dory Cruiser with a similar starboard door problem (gap, lower right), I was going to cut a 2 x 4 and press it in place over the winter.
I'll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens in the spring!
Safe boating!
Dan
 
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