Companionway gate
Thursday - April 17, 2008•Views: 5568••
This was an idea I saw somewhere and had to try. I didn't like the prison window look of the ones I saw made of stainless tubing so I tried to jazz it up a bit. Now we can lock up and still have ventilation, and lock up at night by sliding the hatch shut and locking it from the inside. It's all mild steel. 3/4 tubing for the frame, 1/2 rod for the bars. The star came from a specialty metal supply house. I had it powdercoated when completed. The price estimate for chroming it was $300, powdercoating was $55. They gave it a phosphor coating before the color which I was told would make it last quite a while in a saltwater environment. We'll see. I do wish I'd gone with a darker blue to match the dodger/bimini. A little gold paint on the star and it's done. I built a hanger inside the cockpit locker to store it.
I used a friend's metal shop to build it. He said he'd be glad to build more if anyone wants one, with any kind of design you like. He's a professional metalworker/artist and can do scrollwork, etc. Email me for contact info if interested. tpbnna1 at gmail