Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

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Locutus
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Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

Post by Locutus »

Hello everyone. First post here. I'm currently doing a full restoration on a wooden Glen-L Minuet sailboat which is nearing completion, and I will soon start refitting a 1980 Catalina 25.

The following questions are directed to James Baldwin because the answers are his ideas but I couldn't seem to find the blog or videos where I first saw them. If anyone else on the forum knows, feel free to chime in.

1. What is the company that makes and sells the stainless steel U-channel for the companionway drop board slots? What is the contact information or link?

2. One of James Baldwin's refit videos featured an integral water tank with a round screw-in inspection port. He mentioned the brand, saying that it is the only brand he found that doesn't leak. I would like to know what that brand is and how to reach the company or buy the product.

I need the channels for the Minuet restoration and the inspection port to replace the leaking water tank inspection port on the Catalina 25.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.
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atomvoyager
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Re: Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

Post by atomvoyager »

The Beckson 6" deck plates are from defender.com. The model is DP60-W-C. I see they are backordered now but you might find them at another vender:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pa ... id=7781413

I haven't been able to find any off the shelf stainless companionway tracks. I used to get them bent from 1/8" plate at a metal fab shop that is out of business. To bend such a small piece requires a special bender die that most shops don't have but you might check locally in case someone can bend a 3/4" ID u-channel.

If you want less than 3/4" for thinner drop boards or if you decide to get something easier to source, you could use standard 90 degree angle bar 1/8 x 3/4 x 3/4 that you can buy online at someplace like onlinemetals.com or metalsdepot.com: https://www.metalsdepot.com/stainless-s ... angle-316-

The angle can be installed with one flange aft and one flange outboard then you need a separate flat plate or just thick wood for the inside. I'm assuming you want the stainless for increased strength and to make it more resistant to break-ins but if that's not the case you could just use wood or plastic instead.

Recently I've been buying very thin sheet metal tracks custom bent online at:
https://www.stainlesssupply.com/order-m ... ss0p0/.htm

They are not ideal because they are thin and sharp edges so you need to back them up with wood that slightly overlaps the metal edge.

Maybe someone has other ideas on this?
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Re: Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

Post by Obsessiion »

McMaster Carr sells a stainless steel unistrut which might work for you, I think it's 3/4" x 3/4" but the open channel side is smaller because of the return bends. Maybe 7/16".
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Locutus
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Re: Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

Post by Locutus »

Thanks James for the links. I'll check them out. Stainless Supply sounds like what you've referred to in the past, but they now have a $250.00 minimum.

Obsessiion, I'll have a look at McMaster too.
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Re: Stainless steel companionway U-channel, water tank inspection port.

Post by lsheaf »

I know those post is a couple months old but I thought I’d share anyway.

The Beckson Screw out plates are great. Mine has been installed for almost a year now with no leaks. Just make sure you get the ones that are fully threaded like the ones James posted. I accidentally bought different ones that were advertised as Beckson screw outs but they are not fully threaded.

These:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=7803568

Maybe those are good for certain applications but I have no experience with them. For a water tank, I’d prefer the fully threaded style in case of a severe knockdown or rough seas.
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