Issue 20 : Sept/Oct 2001
Much has been published on how to add hatch screens to your boat, but the problem I have with the designs I’ve read about is that many are made with wooden frames and are very difficult to store aboard when not in use . . . which is most of the time. Others are made with zippers and/or Velcro and are easy to store but are not easy to pass through, and they leave the hatch lined with Velcro.
If these are problems for you, too, maybe this solution will help. If you have a sliding hatch cover and hatch boards that stack vertically in place, you can probably use this idea. All that is required is a couple of yards of mosquito netting and three 1⁄2-inch or 3⁄8-inch wooden dowels. Measure the distance from the rearmost edge of the hatch cover when it is closed to that same point when it is fully open. To say it another way, measure the two sides of the hatch cover opening. They should be the same. Cut two of the dowels 1 inch longer than that dimension, round the ends, and sand them smooth. Cut and sew the netting to fit over the entire open hatch area with a pocket on each of the top sides to hold these dowels, leaving the extra 1 inch exposed to fit under the rear edges of the open hatch cover.
Make the edge next to the open hatch cover long enough to sew a 1⁄4-inch hem for stiffening. Cut the vertical part to fit the vertical opening with a pocket at the bottom to hold the third dowel as a weight to keep the screen in place. Cut the dowel to fit the bottom of the hatch opening, round and sand the ends, and sew the ends of the lower pocket closed, capturing the dowel in place. Hem the two vertical edges for stiffening. This screen is cheap, easy to make, and requires no additions to the cabin or deck. It’s easy to store and easy to pass through. And it keeps the bugs out!
Rolph, better known as Towney to his friends, has been racing and cruising the Chesapeake for more than 60 years. He sails Skybird, an Alberg 30, and was one of the founders of the Chesapeake Bay Alberg 30 Association in 1964.
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