shuizen
New Member
Have you done this? I had a door guide fall out last week. I am hoping there is some way to put it back on the makes sense. Not removing the console.
Cabin door
- Thread starter Great Escape
- Start date
Frostman
New Member
Just returned from a 7 day 'shipyard' period working on the boat on a variety of items that had to be addressed.
The hatch repair proved to be a challenge, but in the end I was able to re-attach the original glide piece using 10-32 stainless steel T-lock nuts whose bases had been ground down top and bottom leaving an equator-like strip that I anchored in the glide piece. If you can find 10-24 T-Lock nuts your screw length options are greatly improved.
I drilled holes in the bottom of the glide to enlarge the screw hole just enough to receive the T-Lock nuts and then used these holes as a template and drilled matching holes in the top of the hatch where it seemed things lined up OK.
The T-lock nuts were then inserted into the glide piece and secured by a very small round head stainless steel wood screws to hold the T-lock 'skis' in position so they lined up with the axis of the channel.
I fine tuned the edges of the 'skis' so they were rounded and ground the remaining base material so the edges lined up parallel with the sides of the glide piece.
I ground round corners on the forward (bow) side on the bottom of the glide piece.
I beveled the port/aft corner of the upper hatch track channel with a 5" angle grinder just enough so I could insert the glide piece back into the track.
The glide piece was then inserted in the track and pushed into position using some pieces of stiff wire. I used some 4" pieces of wire as a stop and then insert SS flat head machine screws and SS fashion washers and a series of lengths to eventually get said screws threaded into the T-Lock nuts.
Due to the thickness of the fabric on the interior side of the hatch I ended up using a 2" long 10-32 flat head machine screw to anchor the glide in position. I then used a 10-32 x1 3/4" for the second screw and then replaced the 2" long with 1 3/4" so the end of the screw did not extended beyond the bottom of the T-lock nuts. 1 1/2" standard lengths are too short. I was prepared to cut down the 2" but found the 1.75's in an unlabeled parts bin at Off Shore Marina at Ticaboo, UT of all places!
Finding the right fasteners took some real effort. I finally found the stainless steel T-Lock nuts (flat bases - no triangular chisel pieces) at True Value Hardware. I chose the flat based styles because those triangles were worrisome.... I'd never be able to get things lined up with them in the way. The flat base allowed me to grab a hold of it with a pair of vise grips and grind them down using my bench grinder till they were no wider than the outside edge of the thread column top and bottom. Due to the geometry of the glide piece I was only able to lock the skis in place in 1 of the 2 holes in the base of the T-Lock nuts. I drilled a 1/16th inch pilot hole and screwed them in place and then used a Dremmel to round off sharp edges and line up the 'skis' edges so they wouldn't bind in the track.
I also used the Dremmel to scarf the bottom of the glide piece so the T-Lock bases didn't extend beyond the bottom edge of the glide piece. next time I'd use a file.....
Once everything was in place and snugged down the hatch movement was noticeably improved. There is a slight binding between the door jamb and the vertical inside face of the hatch itself. I can live with it for now but might be tempted to re-position the glide about a screw diameter forward in order to force the hatch further aft. On inspection, the hatch is bowed inward at this point of contact. Pushing slightly upward from inside or outward at the bottom of the door relieves this binding. I plan on installing a handle on the inside down low to give weaker crew members a way to pull the door open from the inside.
Drilling the holes in the hatch was the 'point of no return'. If I were to do it again I'd shim the forward edge of the hatch with a 3/16" slat to give more play/clearance. I used a framing square to line things up. The hatch is sloped somewhat so you have to be careful that you are perpendicular to the track channel and hatch surface before you drill! An assistant that could line up your drill bit with the framing square would really help..... 2 assistants would be even better so one could have 90 degree view adjustments. It would take some of the guesswork out of the drilling commitment.
I got lucky eventually getting both screws threaded into the T-locks. You can do this initially by pushing the hatch upward and exposing the screws for view from below and getting both of them started and then anchoring them down in place before you try it with the glide piece in the track channel. That's how I came up with the 1.75" screw length.
The galvanized wire rods I keep on hand are leftover pieces from a suspended ceiling I installed in our basement. The 36" length has come in handy several times fishing parts out of the bilge, making jigs and hooks and guides, etc. I used one to locate the original screw holes when the glide pieces were anchored during construction.
The 2' framing square was very helpful lining up. I also used a 1' adjustable layout square to give me a better perspective on perpendicularity when drilling the holes as well.
I abandoned the single piece slide idea once I realized just how complex the glide geometry is.
Measure 10 times..... drill once!
Good Luck!!!
The hatch repair proved to be a challenge, but in the end I was able to re-attach the original glide piece using 10-32 stainless steel T-lock nuts whose bases had been ground down top and bottom leaving an equator-like strip that I anchored in the glide piece. If you can find 10-24 T-Lock nuts your screw length options are greatly improved.
I drilled holes in the bottom of the glide to enlarge the screw hole just enough to receive the T-Lock nuts and then used these holes as a template and drilled matching holes in the top of the hatch where it seemed things lined up OK.
The T-lock nuts were then inserted into the glide piece and secured by a very small round head stainless steel wood screws to hold the T-lock 'skis' in position so they lined up with the axis of the channel.
I fine tuned the edges of the 'skis' so they were rounded and ground the remaining base material so the edges lined up parallel with the sides of the glide piece.
I ground round corners on the forward (bow) side on the bottom of the glide piece.
I beveled the port/aft corner of the upper hatch track channel with a 5" angle grinder just enough so I could insert the glide piece back into the track.
The glide piece was then inserted in the track and pushed into position using some pieces of stiff wire. I used some 4" pieces of wire as a stop and then insert SS flat head machine screws and SS fashion washers and a series of lengths to eventually get said screws threaded into the T-Lock nuts.
Due to the thickness of the fabric on the interior side of the hatch I ended up using a 2" long 10-32 flat head machine screw to anchor the glide in position. I then used a 10-32 x1 3/4" for the second screw and then replaced the 2" long with 1 3/4" so the end of the screw did not extended beyond the bottom of the T-lock nuts. 1 1/2" standard lengths are too short. I was prepared to cut down the 2" but found the 1.75's in an unlabeled parts bin at Off Shore Marina at Ticaboo, UT of all places!
Finding the right fasteners took some real effort. I finally found the stainless steel T-Lock nuts (flat bases - no triangular chisel pieces) at True Value Hardware. I chose the flat based styles because those triangles were worrisome.... I'd never be able to get things lined up with them in the way. The flat base allowed me to grab a hold of it with a pair of vise grips and grind them down using my bench grinder till they were no wider than the outside edge of the thread column top and bottom. Due to the geometry of the glide piece I was only able to lock the skis in place in 1 of the 2 holes in the base of the T-Lock nuts. I drilled a 1/16th inch pilot hole and screwed them in place and then used a Dremmel to round off sharp edges and line up the 'skis' edges so they wouldn't bind in the track.
I also used the Dremmel to scarf the bottom of the glide piece so the T-Lock bases didn't extend beyond the bottom edge of the glide piece. next time I'd use a file.....
Once everything was in place and snugged down the hatch movement was noticeably improved. There is a slight binding between the door jamb and the vertical inside face of the hatch itself. I can live with it for now but might be tempted to re-position the glide about a screw diameter forward in order to force the hatch further aft. On inspection, the hatch is bowed inward at this point of contact. Pushing slightly upward from inside or outward at the bottom of the door relieves this binding. I plan on installing a handle on the inside down low to give weaker crew members a way to pull the door open from the inside.
Drilling the holes in the hatch was the 'point of no return'. If I were to do it again I'd shim the forward edge of the hatch with a 3/16" slat to give more play/clearance. I used a framing square to line things up. The hatch is sloped somewhat so you have to be careful that you are perpendicular to the track channel and hatch surface before you drill! An assistant that could line up your drill bit with the framing square would really help..... 2 assistants would be even better so one could have 90 degree view adjustments. It would take some of the guesswork out of the drilling commitment.
I got lucky eventually getting both screws threaded into the T-locks. You can do this initially by pushing the hatch upward and exposing the screws for view from below and getting both of them started and then anchoring them down in place before you try it with the glide piece in the track channel. That's how I came up with the 1.75" screw length.
The galvanized wire rods I keep on hand are leftover pieces from a suspended ceiling I installed in our basement. The 36" length has come in handy several times fishing parts out of the bilge, making jigs and hooks and guides, etc. I used one to locate the original screw holes when the glide pieces were anchored during construction.
The 2' framing square was very helpful lining up. I also used a 1' adjustable layout square to give me a better perspective on perpendicularity when drilling the holes as well.
I abandoned the single piece slide idea once I realized just how complex the glide geometry is.
Measure 10 times..... drill once!
Good Luck!!!
Last edited:
Degree of Freedom
New Member
Removed the helm panel on the weekend to properly repair the door...actually a very simple task...I think the 250, 260, 270 of same era would be about the same.
Now... Should I just reinstall the existing nylon slides (they're in great shape), or should I replace with the newer truck style? I'm planning on reinstalling the problematic upper slide (or new trucks) with through bolts rather than screws as the screws pulling out and/or loosening off was the cause of the problem.
Now... Should I just reinstall the existing nylon slides (they're in great shape), or should I replace with the newer truck style? I'm planning on reinstalling the problematic upper slide (or new trucks) with through bolts rather than screws as the screws pulling out and/or loosening off was the cause of the problem.
penguin
Member
@Degree of Freedom, did you take pictures by chance?
Degree of Freedom
New Member
It's still apart and I'll take a few pictures this weekend as I put it back together. The reason it was so simple to remove is I emailed Sea Ray and they sent me a diagram showing all the connection points and a description of the process...I'll post that as well. Your DA is the first year of the redesign, I believe, so may be slightly different.
Dan
Dan
Brad Wagner
New Member
- Feb 5, 2020
- 1
- Boat Info
- 1998 Sea Ray Sundancer 290
- Engines
- Twin Mercruiser 5.0L
Any chance we can get an update on all of this???
techmitch
Well-Known Member
- May 1, 2008
- 8,423
- Boat Info
- 1999 270 DA
- Engines
- Twin 4.3s W/Alpa I Gen II's
That post is over 8 years old and that member hasn't been around in over 6 years.
Degree of Freedom
New Member, 44, from Vancouver Island
Degree of Freedom was last seen:
Jan 1, 2014
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