At long last, the aft deck headliner track preparations are done. The necessary woodwork is installed. The ceiling wiring is done. The One-Mile Ray searchlight is sufficiently installed. And the helm radio box is done. Time to call the Whisper Wall headliner installer.
That’s a good sign
That’s an empty Whisper Wall track tube. Which means all of the track that was in it has been used. That’s a good thing, since those tubes have been under foot and otherwise in the way for years.
Looks great!
Port aft corner of the aft deck hardtop
The tracks here are only fitted and stapled in place. The installer still has to drill and screw, then staple the heck out of the tracks to lock them in place.
The new speaker mounts are at the perfect height
The tracks further forward are fully screwed and stapled in place
This is gonna look great
Leaping ahead just a bit, I’m hoping I can tap into the boating braintrust of readers of this blog and get some ideas for sliding door hardware. One of the future challenges I’ve got to deal with is making then installing doors for each space on the boat. Hinged doors are challenging enough, but I’ve already got the hardware for those. The bigger challenge is that I need to find low-profile sliding door hardware. For more than two years I’ve been pondering on this challenge, even ordering various bits and pieces to see if I can cobble something together using unconventional approaches. Sliding drawer slides…total bust. Sailboat traveler cars and tracks….extremely low profile tracks (<1/2″), but they’re bloody expensive and the traveler cars are too wide. So if anybody has suggestions for low-profile sliding door tracks and rollers (~1″ overall height), I’m all ears.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Aft Deck Headliner Install Begins
1969chriscraftroamer46 
Have you looked at any of the linear motion tracks on McMaster?
https://www.mcmaster.com/linear-shafts
I didn’t, but they’re perfect! Too bad they’re so expensive. Just one set for a slider door would be ~$1000!
Thanks though!
Cheers
Q
I feel like this post was just a tease. Looking great. You’ve done an incredible job.
Yes, John…it was definitely a tease. 🙂
But that’s what the aft deck looked like when I arrived the following morning. I’ll post today about what it looked like later that day.
Cheers,
Q
For interior sliding wood doors, maybe just simple guides, like sliding screen door guides and rollers on the bottom of the door, riding in the bottom track. Then you don’t have to have difficult hanging rollers. They’ll always be locked open or shut when underway anyhow.
Thanks Doug!
The problem with bottom rollers is you need to have the tracks exposed or they’re in a usually not very boaty threshold or frame. I’m looking for top tracks.
Cheers,
Q
You are a super talented guy… custom design your own sliding door tracks and hire a 3D printer to make them for you.
Really looking nice Q!!!
check out Knape & Vogt sliding door tracks, available thru Home Depot. They are super simple, nor rollers, the doors just slide in the plastic tracks. I just used them with 1/4″ Baltic Birch plywood doors in a 8′ wide by 4′ high storage cabinet.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/2417-Series-60-in-White-Plastic-Door-Track-Assembly-P2417-WH-60/301011400
Hi Jim! Sorry for the delay getting back to you.
I used the Knape & Vogt slider tracks for small cabinets, but I’m looking for tracks that will work as man-doors for the V-berth and aft head and also the helm doors that open to the side decks. 1/4″ ply won’t do in those applications.
Let me know if something else comes to mind.
Cheers,
Q
hi Quentin
I didn’t know (or maybe didn’t read carefully) you were talking about man doors. I’ll do some hunting.
Jim
door hangers at Johnson Hardware look decent.
https://johnsonhardware.com/door-hangers
likewise at National Hardware
https://www.natman.com/category/track-hangers-sliding-doors
and Knape and Vogt:
https://www.knapeandvogt.com/product-page/sliding-door-hardware
Hey Jim!
Those are pretty consistent with all of the others I’ve seen. The problem is the 1-1/2″~2″ height of the track/roller combo. For two of the slider doors I’ve got, that isn’t a problem. But for the helm doors, I’d have to duck down below the track to cross the threshold. I’m looking for something with a total height of ~1″. I’ve found a few examples, but they’re all stunningly expensive (e.g. timken linear tracks).
I’ll keep digging. There’s gotta be something out there!
Cheers,
Q
Q, the Johnson 111SD has a track height of 1.037″ smallest I’ve seen.
I’ve been looking at linear rails and carriage blocks, like this: https://www.amazon.com/CNCCANEN-Guideway-Carriage-Automated-Equipments/dp/B0814XGXQ9/ref=zg_bs_350663011_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FMNQQJ4HPJZPW94W5V5T.
The tracks are 15mm high. But I’m not sure if the carriages are made to be hung upside-down and bear a 75# load for many years. Last thing I want is to be tearing into this again in five years.
I’ll take a look at those 111SD tracks.
Thanks!
Q
It looks to me like the CNCCANEN track is meant to carry its load above the track, not suspended.