Fall Project- Make sliding salon door Electric

[JLR]

On my other boat (56 Ocean), I am thinking of adding a linear actuator to make the sliding salon door electric. I will have to remove the strikeplate so that the hook on the door does not grab the strikeplate when closed. But, here is the question. I need some sort of manual release both from the aft deck and from the inside of the salon so I can still open the door if the actuator craps out. Alternatively, I need an actuator that I can force closed if it is not working. Any ideas? I must confess, I have only seen electrified sliding doors from a distance on other boats and am not sure how they are rigged. All ideas welcomed.

[Pascal]

Every automatic sliding door I ve seen was pneumatic, not electric. Linear actuators are pretty slow, even the “fast” ones.

Personally in hate them. Too slow, and there is a brief delay between the time you press the button and the time it starts moving. We had a pneumatic door on the boat I used to run and we would keep it disconnected except when running offshore

With pneumatic you can easily add a quarter turn release valve to release pressure. A linear actuator would require a release pin. Easy inside but how do you get to it from the outside?

[JLR]

Thanks Pascal. Outside is a trick to get in. I will start looking into the pneumatic ones. Frankly, it may not be worth the trouble but I will be in search of Fall or Winter projects. I thought this one might be fun.

[miboatnutz]

What about an automatic sliding door operator? They're certainly speedy enough and you can get them in 24 volt VDC. They can also be cut to length to fit a size range of doors.

Here's an example

http://www.automaticdoormotor.com/sa...uble-leaf.html

[SKYCHENEY]

What about an automatic sliding door operator? They're certainly speedy enough and you can get them in 24 volt VDC. They can also be cut to length to fit a size range of doors.

Here's an example

http://www.automaticdoormotor.com/sa...uble-leaf.html

And its from China and says the price is a negotiation. Maybe the President can negotiate on your behalf.

[riverrandy]

Is this door the only point of entry? Can you access the salon from another door to release the pin, or is it like a convertible with only one door?

[JLR]

Only one door. Hence, the need for some type of safety release from the inside(easy) and the outside(not easy).

[miboatnutz]

I used the door operator listed in the link as an example, however they're sold here in the U.S. as well, so no you do not need President Trump to negotiate a trade deal to purchase.

These units are pulley driven with an over-running clutch which means you can open them by hand in the event of some type of failure by simply pulling on the door with enough force to override the clutch. We use them all the time in pharmaceutical labs. High traffic areas in wet environments where the doors have to cycle open and closed dozens of times per day.

In a marine application, I'd use a locking door latch for security and once the door is unlocked, use a push button or motion detector to actuate the door operator from either side. If you actuate the system with the door latched the clutch will override the drive and make noise but noting will happen.

I've seen the pneumatic systems on bigger boats and they're slow and way more complicated than an electro-mechanical unit.

[Cricket]

John, think this is the outfit most are using to automate the boat sliding doors. What I've heard is that it's a great product but expensive. Also, there's a lot more to retrofit installs than would appear. most in the sportfish world have gone away from the air powered doors because they then would have to also add an air system, back in the day Monterey and then more recently American Custom Yachts already were using air for controls and other stuff too.

[JLR]

Holden - which outfit are you referring to?