Screeching companionway hatch

[Mary Mac]

Hi everyone, the sliding part of my companionway hatch makes an awful screeching noise when I slide it. Is there a fix for this?

It is pretty worn and I’m not sure if it is missing a part or just needs to be waxed or something. Thank you.

[Pretzle]

Hey Mary,

I use wd40 silicone spray. It works pretty well for a little while (maybe a couple weks depending on rain). Longer than the crc dry lube I tried before that. With it closed, I spray as much of the forward rails as I can then hit the aft rails with it open with a rag handy for overspray.

I would love to hear what others use as well.

Sean
'69 CAL34

[mantzeln]

I tried a polyurethane tape and it worked well for a bit, but didn't adhere well to the deck. Might have worked better if I had adhered it to the companionway hatch instead of the tracks. It did work wonders underneath my sliding door to the head on my '71 Cal 29

[Mary Mac]

Thank you both. I’ll try these ideas.

[rcvesselstyn]

You had it right at first. Rub hard paraffin or candle wax on the metal part of the slide and the fiberglass won't make that screeching noise when you slide it. It will last at least the season, maybe two.

[rcvesselstyn]

1-1-20190721_150317.jpg (3.77 KiB) Viewed 8294 times

If your hatch is like this one you have several solutions. Most of them are costly and time consuming. The quick fix is to purchase a pack of Scotch brand heavy duty felt pads. You will need to clean off the under side of the hatch "wings" in the aft (towards the cockpit) area where you will stick one pad on each side. This will raise the aft end of the hatch so that the edge will not scrape. You just need to pick the right pad thickness so that it will do the job, but not bind when sliding the hatch. Good luck.

[Nancysails]

We tried Lithium grease on our very screechy Cal 3-34 hatch, made a big mess and didn't really help. The cooler the weather, the louder the screech. Also tried candle wax and WD 40 with no luck. Love to hear if anyone has solved this one!

[SailingChris]

My Cal 20 does this. The hatch edges bind on the raised deck tracks as I pull it closed. My best solution is paraffin wax--the stuff used on top of jelly jars, and available at hardware and grocery stores. It's a wonderful dry lube for all sorts of boat things. I use it for mast tracks, genoa/mainsheet/gooseneck tracks, etc. It's equally useful at home for door latches and such. Great stuff; cheap; high performing; no adverse effects as with silicones.

The Cal 20 sliding hatch is a very shallow inverted U shape--the edges capture the metal track that the hatch slides on. Inside the side sof the U are wooden pieces that keep the hatch centered and provide a cushion between fiberglass pieces. Mine eventually rotted so I removed the hatch and glued in new ones. I still get a little screech where the fiberglass curves around and touches the raised track at the after edge of the hatch.

Chris Campbell

[Ahoy]

Hi Mary,
The hatch on my ‘’68 CAL 34 screeched like a banchee. Opening it slowly only made the screeching longer. So, I glued strips of paired wood on the hatch and screwed strips of plastic 1/8” to it..it was an ordeal but worked out well.