New Port Hole Bug Screens

 I have two port holes in the side of the cockpit well (near the floor), which we keep open all the time. We place in the port holes, these snap in bug screens; but as you can see, from the picture to the left, some of the plastic has broken off. It is also broken in a couple of other places not visible in the photo. These bug screens are 1985 vintage and have just deteriorated through use and I suspect UV damage. Also, these sit around shoe level when sitting in the cockpit, and occasionally get popped out by an accidental heel kick.

Wooden Template

In reconstructing these, I first made a wooden template suitable for a router. I used MDF (medium density fibreboard).
Next I procured some PVC board, which when doubling the thickness of the PVC board, was just a few millimeters thicker than my old bug screen.
I used PVC, but could just as easily have worked with Polyethylene plastic board.
Next I cut out of the PVC board, four rough finished frames which were about 5-10mm wider than my template.
You might notice that my template has a wider surface than the original bug screen. This was to give it some added sthrengh and make it easier to place the bug mesh between the two PVC cutouts.

Routering

I used double sided sellotape to secure the template to the rough cutouts and then routed the remainder of the PVC off to the finished template. Each one was done in turn.
Then because my template wasn't exactly symmetrical  I matched two pairs so that all corners lined up perfectly.

Mesh glued and trimmed

 I lay one side of my PVC cutout down and placed a small bead of 3M 4000 deck caulking compound in the centre of the flat surface. Then I placed my bug screen mesh (Nylon I think) over the top off this, then spread the 4000 over the mesh so that it was in the middle and not near the edges, and sat level with the mesh and not proud. Final tension was then applied to the mesh and it was allowed to set up. This was to act as a "glue" so I could the trim the mesh about 1mm in from the outer edge after it had set up.

4000 applied before 2nd side attached

Next application of 4000 was applied in a thin layer over the mesh, but not approaching the inside edge by about 5mm. If the 4000 is squeezed out to the inside and over the mesh, the job looks "ugly" and once set is hard to remove from the mesh without damaging it.

Glass over top for glue to set

Finally the other side was applied, being careful that both PVC cutouts lined up perfectly. The PVC was pressed down from the inside edge to the outside, squeezing out any excess 4000. A plate of glass was applied over the two pieces and allowed to set up.
After it has set up, a sharp craft knife was used to trim the excess off, on the outside edge.

Finished product

 The finished product to the left. It's both flexible and hardy. Should last several years. But, if you need to change the mesh, just slip a  blade between the two sections to break the bond. Clean up and repeat the process for new mesh.
What am I going to secure it with in the port hole? Probably "blue tack"; but one could use a double sided foam tape, like they use to secure mirrors on walls.
Don't try to do the glueing in one step with the mesh. I tried and it was very difficult to have both PVC pieces line up perfectly. Also when trimming the mesh off, you could still see the mesh on the outer edge and it looked "ugly". A much better finish, if you glue the mesh to one piece first; have it set up, and trim the mesh back from the out edge. Then, when trimming the final outer edge of 4000 is done, a nice white finish is all you see.  So, in essence, what you see here is a bug screen that has had the mesh replaced once because I didn't do it right first time. Cost $30 for the PVC 1 square meter sheet; and $7 for the mesh.

Robocan

There are many sorts of automatic pest control cans available today, and we use one on the boat for deterrence of flies and other bugs. These cans (305g) last about 17 weeks and can be turned on or off.

My wife made a nice cover for the unit and we place in a  area suitable for the purpose using the supplied fitting, but that fitting was sticky back velcroed to the wall incase we decided later to remove or change location.

Our can uses pyrethrin; your choice of chemical may vary.

BugsBgone!  

Bug Screen for Companion Way Hatch

In addition to our new bug screens placed on the hatches inside the boat, we came up with an idea for the companionway hatch that is easy, cheap and functionally easy to apply and use.
My wife sourced curtain mesh from a haberdashery (that is a curtain/fabric store) along with weighted line used to weight the bottom of curtains.
She sewed a bungy into the mesh which sits along the top of the companionway slide and we had convenient power out sockets on which to locate the bungy hooks.

From the bungy, all around the edge, was sewn the weighted line/rope that we also bought; to give the mesh the ability to form to the companion way entrance.
Egress is now easy to just brush aside the mesh and then throw the weighted edge back over the companion way once you have made your way through.

From inside 

Bug Screens

We had soft mesh covers, with bug mesh screen, made for the out side of our hatches. The problem with these, was when it started to rain we had to rush out side to remove them so we could close the hatches; otherwise the mesh would get stuck in the hatches as we closed them. So, having seen this idea on another boat, I copied the design to suit my boat. In essense, we could use the bug screens from inside the boat and close the hatches when it rains without stepping outside.

 First, I made my wooden frame to match each hatch surround inside the boat. On the back side of the frame, I  routed a 5mm groove in a square pattern. I used a glazing rubber which is 5.5mm in diameter with a hole through the middle. It also had a row of longitudinal ridges on the outside for gripping. This allowed the rubber to be compressed down from 5.5mm to about 4.5 mm. A polyurathane was applied to the frame, front and back.
I placed the mesh over the frame with about an inch extra on the dimensions for each side of the routed groove. Starting at one side, I pushed the glazing rubber into the groove with the mesh. Once done, I went to the other side and as I pushed it in, the mesh starts to tighten up. With the remaining mesh still exposed out of the groove, I ran a sharp blade along the edge, of the outside of the groove, to trim off the mesh.

Finished product. Note rain on hatch!

Hinges were applied to the side of the frame, opposite the levers for the hatch. In the corners, to secure the bug screen up, a couple of aluminum triangular plates were secured with one screw and allowed to pivot to allow the fame to swing down on the hinges. Just above the closed frame, a strip of half inch x half inch foam strip was applied to the inside of the hatch surrond. This seals against the closed frame to prevent any small bugs getting down the side of the frame and prevents the pushing inwards of the frame.