Sometimes, it’s the little things that give a boat its “pop.” When my son stumbled across a 2003 Hewes Redfisher 16, he knew he’d found a classic hull with great lines. Having watched his dad restore a 2000 Maverick Master Angler, he was looking forward to starting his own project, and this boat had everything he was looking for. The first thing he chose to do was replace the old console access door.
Replacement vs. Replication
While the hull and motor were in surprisingly good shape, 22 years of sun and salt exposure had been hard on the components, so there were plenty of options for relatively easy, high-impact projects.
Of those, the thing that bothered my son the most was the console door. Highly visible and frequently accessed, it was faded, scratched and abused. Not only was it an eyesore, the door had an annoying habit of falling out of its frame onto his bare feet when underway.
Like many boat owners trying to replace OEM parts on older boats, my son quickly learned that there was no “off the shelf” replacement available for his console door, even when he tracked down the original supplier of the part.
Manufacturers are constantly making minor design changes to their boats, which translates to design changes in the components that go on them. Luckily, Boat Outfitters can precisely replicate doors, hatches and many similar parts. Console doors are a common request.
The goal of this particular project was simply to replicate the original part exactly. The size of the door, the radius of the frame corners, and the function of the removable bi-folding door itself were all key design considerations to ensure that the new unit was a true “drop in” replacement.
Tools and Materials
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✓
Boat Outfitters radius corner template
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Screwdrivers & wrenches
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✓
Painter’s tape
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Drill & 9/64" drill bit (for #8 screws)
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Tip: When mounting into aluminum frames, don’t skip the Tef Gel — it helps prevent corrosion down the road.
Removing the Old Door
In this case, removing the old door was relatively simple. Eight machine screws with nylon nuts and washers held the frame in place, along with old marine sealant that would also require removal.
Limited visibility into the console and a narrow opening required some minor contortions and “extraction by feel” techniques, but we had all eight screws out within 10 minutes.
A slow, steady pull on the frame broke the unit free of the old marine sealant, and now we were ready for measurement.
Measuring the Frame Dimensions and Corner Radius
It is important to remember that, for true “drop in” fit, the focus of your measurement is the frame, and specifically the inside portion that aligns to the console door opening. The inside edge of the frame has a lip that slips into the console opening itself. It is important to note how the frame is mounted to the console.
In our case, the eight screws mounted through the exterior of the frame and through the face of the console. There are other designs where the frame is mounted to the console with screws going through the lip.
This provides a cleaner look, since the screw heads are not visible when the door is closed, but it requires a much thicker console wall than we were working with.
Measuring the outside of the frame lip for both height and width was simple enough. The more complicated — and more critical — measurement was the radius of the frame corners. Getting this right would be critical to ensuring that the new frame fit properly into the opening without any gaps.
To get this measurement, Boat Outfitters provides a radius template that we printed off to get the exact curvature. It is important to ensure your printer settings are set to “actual size” and that you verify measurements against the reference scale on the template. Because this was an exact replica project, we measured the radius of the old frame rather than the radius of the console cuts, which would have been less precise.
To ensure that our measurements were clear, we took pictures of the part being replicated along with our measurements — including the radius corner measurements. This would ensure that our project manager could see exactly what measurements were being provided and that we’d gotten the measurements correct.
Connecting with a Boat Outfitters Project Manager
With dimensions in hand, the next step was to connect with a Boat Outfitters project manager. A quick phone call put us in touch with a project manager who talked through our goals, provided expertise on material options, and initiated the project.
In our case, because we wanted an exact replacement and had the part in question, we sent the original door to Boat Outfitters to replicate.
Our project manager gathered additional details on logo preferences and other options that we might consider, then managed the project through engineering and fabrication.
Installing the New Door
Within a matter of weeks, the new door arrived, ready for installation.
A quick dry fit confirmed that we had the measurements correct, and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the lettering and hardware.
What began as a simple replacement quickly gave the impression of a major upgrade to the overall look of the boat.
Because this was a drop-in replacement, installation was relatively simple: eight new holes, #8-32 stainless steel screws, washers and nuts, but there were a few things required to ensure that the installation was clean and would last another 20+ years
The first step was to put painter’s tape in the areas where the 8 screw holes would be drilled.
This allows for the holes to be marked clearly for later drilling.
Avoid drilling the holes through the frame holes, as this can damage the powder coating and allow future corrosion to begin undermining the area.
The old saw of “Measure twice, drill once” applies here; a small shift in the frame’s location while marking holes will mean re-drilling holes during final installation.
With the holes clearly marked and re-checked, remove the console door frame and drill the holes. A sharp bit and light pressure are important to avoid cracking the gelcoat.
Because these screws are through-bolted and use nuts to secure them, it is not necessary to countersink the holes.
NOTE: If your frame is attached to the console with self-tapping screws, it is critical to countersink the holes into the gelcoat to avoid stress cracks later.
Once the holes are drilled, remove any remaining tape from the previous steps and do one final test fit to ensure hole alignment. If you marked your holes properly, all eight screws will slide into place effortlessly.
With the frame still in place, place painter’s tape on the console around the outside of the frame. This step will ensure that any marine sealant that squeezes out during final installation will ooze onto the tape and not the console itself.
CORROSION PREVENTION: If your console door has an aluminum frame, it is important to apply Tef Gel to the screws and frame holes. Tef Gel will create a barrier between the two dissimilar metals (aluminum frame and stainless steel screws), which otherwise will corrode over time.
Remove the frame from the taped console and apply a small, even bead of marine-grade sealant to the back of the frame lip. Install the console door frame using the #8 screws, washers and nuts. Do not tighten each screw completely until all screws are snug, then do a final round of tightening to fully secure the frame to the console.
With the frame fully secured, carefully peel the painter’s tape and any excess sealant off of the console. Wipe any remaining excess sealant off of the frame and console while it is still wet and let the sealant cure.
Final Impressions
The overall impact of this relatively small component replacement surprised us. The new, shiny black console door lit up the entire console and gave the boat its first taste of “better than new.” In hindsight, we would have taken the opportunity to polish the gelcoat around the console door before installation, because the new door exposed the amount of oxidation on the surrounding area.
With a long list of future projects ahead, however, there will be plenty of opportunity to address this in the future. In the meantime, the improved form and functionality of the new console door has only served as motivation to start the next project.
