Wing doors/hard enclosure 43DC

[eze2bme]

I am considering installing wing doors and a hard enclosure on my 1979 43 DC. The 43 DC was built between 1970 and 1984 and I've seen several 43 DC models on Yachtworld that had wing doors and hard enclosures ... but all were constructed differently. I don't think that this was ever offered as an option. Does anyone have a 43 DC with wing doors and hard enclosure? If so, would you email me so I might find out how it was accomplished and maybe get some pictures? Please put "Hatteras" in the subject line of the email. Thanks in advance.

Tomorrow I'm going to call Jennifer Carmen at Hatteras and Sam McPherson to get their input.

Tom
eze2bme@aol.com

 

[CaptnRick]

Tom,

I was considering the same thing. I have a 1973 Hatt DC. All of my dock friends have told me to go to a plastics shop or supplier and take a good look at "starboard". Same stuff that West Marine sells. The plastics supplier that I went to told me that the generic starboard is made in almost any size shape etc...such as 2"x2" that would be the ribs of the hard enclosure. Further an expert carpenter buddy suggested that I use the railing flat metal strips to attach the 2"x2" vertical strips.

That is about as far as I have gotten in my research. I have since decided to have curtains installed until I can do more research.

Anything that you come up with can you keep me informed as well.

Thanks,
Captnrick
Andante 1973 43' DC FB

 

[StratPlan61]

Many years ago I fabricated a similar project on my 44' Trojan FBMY. I used 3/4" Plexiglass for the doors, ss piano hinges and standard door hardware. Drilling the plexi requires patience, a sharp drill bit and a speed which does not cause melting. The doors came out fine. I used aluminum 'angle' material and 1" square aluminum tubing for much of the framing. I used a fiberglass sheet material which I bought from a company which made large electrical panels. It was 1/4", a deep red color and reasonably stiff. I used mirror-polished .030 SS metal for all curved corners, rolled on a 3" radius by a sheet metal shop. The door frames were 3/4 marine ply sandwiched with the fiberglass panels on the exterior, then painted 2 coats with 1 step polyurethane paint. Remember to build 'drain troughs' below on the outside of the wing doors for weather run-off. It came out fine and looked good. Angles for the door thresholds, frames and headers are tricky due to deck angles, ceiling angles and canting-back the door frames. Good luck. Be patient.

 

[Starman]

STARBOARD AS A RIB IS A BAD IDEA !

Starboard is a plastic that is heat susceptible, meaning it will expand and contract. It will not hold a screw very well. There is a glue for it, but that requires heating with a torch and it does not have great retention.

So stay away from any structural fabrication using starboard.

I have used this for about 13 years now, and it is a great product, if used for the right applications.

I installed wingdoors on a 72' hatteras using 1/2 clear Lexan. Unbreakable. I also had a custom SS piano hinge made that covered the screws and hid them from view from the outside.

One flange of the piano hinge was "L" bent, and the screws went into the thin side of the door.

When using Pleaxi remember to drill a large hole than the screw bolt size and do not overtighten because even with 1/2 or 3/4 ( 3/4 I think is over kill ) the plexi will spider crack.

 

[Finalee]

My 43 was customized by Hurley and has wing doors. I will email pictures to anyone who wants them.

 

[Trojan]

On my 73/43 DC I have 3/4 plexiglass doors and teak framing with some kind of panel inserts. I have 4 glass sliders. One at each corner and an adjoining fixed glass window. I also have a transom door and 2 swing open plexiglass windows in the stern. All was designed and built by Hatteras.

BILL

 

[Bill Allen]

My 73 43 dc has a full enclosure it's on yacht world Tuckerton N.J. you may get some ideas off those picts. We took the boat to Fl. two years ago and frankly if it didn't have a hard back I'd put one on. I also have solid plastic wing doors. The frames for the side and rear windows are screwed right to the old wood railings and it's works and looks fine. It can make line handling a bit of a pita but it sure is nice to be warm and also cool as required. We have a free standing ac unit with a round duct which we run out the cleat hole. I like it quite a bit in "buggie" N.J. plus on the way down the icw I always run the boat from the lower station so I was both warm and comforable.

 

[Plan B2]

This topic is of interest. I am considering a 53 classic and would like to know if the aft enclosure could be removed, and reinstalled on a season, by season basis? Or at least once to establish my preference for the current boating area.

BTW, I agree 100% with Starman on the careful use of starboard. All too often I have seen it used in the wrong application and ultimately fail.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

Ours came with wood wing doors and it's nice. We do need to replace a few dodger board panals (both corners where the cleats are at) But the one price we got was $200 for each of those panals....Therefor, I just enjoy all the extra room we have to put dock lines on our cleats for the time being.

We do have islinglass to enclose the back which is nice as we open it all up most of the time, can close it if it rains or when it's cold and we use a small LP heater if needed.

We also eat 90% of our dinners in the cockpit for all the above reasons. Plus I can fish off the back at the same time !!

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Ours came with wood wing doors and it's nice. We do need to replace a few dodger board panals (both corners where the cleats are at) But the one price we got was $200 for each of those panals....Therefor, I just enjoy all the extra room we have to put dock lines on our cleats for the time being.

We do have islinglass to enclose the back which is nice as we open it all up most of the time, can close it if it rains or when it's cold and we use a small LP heater if needed.

We also eat 90% of our dinners in the cockpit for all the above reasons. Plus I can fish off the back at the same time !!

Charlie,
On my 1985 53 I have the same dodger board material that was OEM on the flybridge surround. I noticed though that the corners are actually made of another material. They are aluminum. I hadn't even noticed it until I was waxing them the other day. There was a small chip in the paint and that is when I could see what they were.

Maybe you could have a piece of aluminum bent to the proper shape for the corner and then paint it to match. It seems like it would be a better material for the corner since you have lines running through there.

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

My corners "were" dodgerboard.....

Still have what's left of both of them (one was mostly gone when we bought the boat, the other WAS Ok till a nonboating friend helped out one day...

He kinda forgot to put the "rope" (as he called it) thru the outer ring before "tying" it down on the cleat using overhand knots.....LOTS of overhand knots....

When his "rope" came tight, it tore the dodgerboard off.. But in his defense, his multi overhand knots did hold........

 

[Walter P]

Over the last couple of dozen years I installed hard enclosures on 3 of my Hatts. Two were on 43 DC's and one is on my current 48 (82 Series 1 MY) boat. The 2 43's had wing doors and sliding side windows. I did all of the work myself but I don't recommend anyone attempting the job unless you have a pretty good degree of proficiency working with irregular surfaces (read - boats) The first 43 had Lexan (Polycarbonate) doors. and annodized alum door frames to match the original Hatteras Duronautic brown finish. I found a shop outside of Phila, Pa that was able to do the finish (and it was cheap)

The second 43 (1980 model) was in my opinion much nicer. I was able to get Steve McPhearson (now Sam's Marine) who was the parts mgr at High Point to sell me a good supply of "dodger board" material in 1/4" size. The panels were about 12 feet x 49 inches. The new dodgers were approx 28 inches high by whatever the length was (I can only guess length now), In any event the length was from the new wing door frames to the curved stern corners (which Steve also supplied) plus the pieces across the stern and new P & S gates.

Now comes my favorite part..... The new wing doors were made by laminating two of the "scrap" strips of quarter inch dodger board material, but not until a window opeing was cut into both pieces of dodger board. The piece prepared for the inside of the boat had a window opening about 3/8" larger on all four edges than the outside piece. This left a perfect recess to install the 1/4" plastic window. The outside window edge was rounded with a trim router and a "retainer frame was cut out (about 1 and 1/4" wide) from the old 1/8" dodger boards and installed with counter sunk oval head SS screws into Blind holes (6 x 32). Naturally the "glass" was installed using a good bedding compound.

Steve also supplied me with some quarter inch channel material which was used to hold the new dodger boards tight from the gunwale to the underside of the handrail.

If anyone is interested, the boat is now owned by a close friend and is in my Yacht club in NJ. The new owner is a nice guy (as are most Hatteras owners) and I'm sure he would be happy to show it to any interested parties. More detailed info is available from me if anyone wishes to call me on my cell.

Walt Pereira..... 732-991-5665

 

[Trojan]

I have large alumium angle brackets in each stern rear corner. About 1 inch thick and 8 X 8 upright with a 8X6 base bolted to the deck. The dock lines pass through the uprights with rounded ware plates inside and out. Like said it's a pita to reach through the open window and down to reach a line.


BILL

 

[eze2bme]

I spoke with Jennifer Carmen at Hatteras and she looked into the archives for the 43 DC and found that wing doors and side hard enclosures were a custom option. Unfortunately Hatteras kept no drawings. SO ... there are some 43 DCs out there with custom Hatteras wing doors and side enclosures on the aft deck.

 

[Trojan]

I have the original drawings for the enclosure on my boat from Hatteras.

BILL

 

[mike41tc]

Bill, I would like to take a look at your aft deck enclousure if possible. I have a 41 twin cabin that I would like to enclose. I'm not far from you I'm in Gibraltar Mi. PM me if that would be possible. Thanks.

mike41tc

 

[nyrussell]

Okay, keep the info coming. Unless we quietly sell shortly I too am interested in enclosing the Aft Deck. Can modify the plans for our 40 too.

Noel

 

[vanvalin]

great forum, Just purchased an 84 43dc working hard on leaning the boat, and everyone on here is a great wealth of knowledge.

I have the same type of enclosure, does anyone have info on the sweep that they attached to the bottom of the swing window in the back. With the angle the water runs down the window, hits the rail and pours into the inside. The bottom of the window has a channel, so I think there was some type of weather strip or shower type sweep.

Second question, can the dodger board be used to enclose from the rail to the deck on the flybridge?

thanks

Pete

1984 43DC

 

[sgharford]

We're all kind of shooting questions, I'm going to add to it, for I too have 1976 43DC and am currently replacing existing dodger boards and think this is in spirit of original question posed. I noticed the 'original' dodger board left about a 1/2" gap at the deck and I'm trying to figure out why that is since water can only run out the back as there is a lip built into the deck that only subsides at the stern port and starboard cleats (so water on deck can run overboard). I assume the 1/2" gap is for potential flexing since it can't be for water to run out, but anybody know for sure? Otherwise, I'm thinking of running the new replacement material to the deck and caulking the seam.

By the way, the corner dodger boards (not sure if they were factory, but they are old) were made by laminating 2 x 1/16 sheets of dodger board material together. I assume the fabricated was able to bend the thinner sheets individually by perhaps heating them. The other straight pieces are 1/8 inch thick.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

On the 53ED, the dodger board on the aft deck goes all the way down and is caulked to the gunnel. It also goes all the way up to the teak hand rail and is caulked in there as well. I don't think it makes any difference. Do what you think looks/works best.