Am I the only one that thinks the cabin door is a hazard?

[pelagic2530]

My 99 2320 have a forward bilge pump factory installed.

‘97 2530 here, has a forward pump. Tough to say if it was factory or aftermarket; it’s on its own switch that’s not part of the factory panel.

Access is via pie plate as seen in the pictures above.

 

[Amarino]

To each their own! For what it's worth, I run with my rear curtains up/off almost all the time. Even when it's REAL snotty, good amounts of water coming off the pilothouse roof, it's never wet inside the pilothouse. Only way I could think of that happening is with driving rain or a very stiff tailwind, and in that very rare case rolling the curtains down isn't a hassle. Mine have been pretty low-maintenance, it's just three rectangles of canvas/clear plastic with two straight zippers and some snaps. The boat's a '95; the canvas has been replaced once, and it's due for another. 13 years to a set of canvas, I'll take that all day long for the ability to open up the whole boat to the cockpit.

you must really take care of your stuff because my Eisenglass curtains never came close to lasting 13 years.

 

[pelagic2530]

you must really take care of your stuff because my Eisenglass curtains never came close to lasting 13 years.

The clear vinyl gets hazy, but that’s not really a problem since they’re almost never needed to function as windows. But we’ve never had any issues with the vinyl or the fabric itself failing.

 

[Cheapie408]

I think it's much harder to keep eisenglass new if you keep your boat in the water and just leave everything expose. You have to be religious with caring for them. My old boat when I just left things hanging, I got about 5 or 6 years out of them. I trailer my boat now and remove the canvas and cover the boat when I know I won't be back on the water for at least a week. You can almost keep them looking new indefinitely this way.

The haziness from the vinyl can be buffed out using specific compound but it will never be perfect.

 

[shawnee83]

So I was looking at the pics of the new deck set up with the roll up door that replaced the real door for the sake of cooler storage……and the door being a hazard. You filled in the open notch transom so it won’t get any water from a following sea but now it will also not drain the deck if you take on water from the bow or sides and you are concerned about rolling over? It’s your boat and you made it the way you wanted it for what you use it for and that’s all that matters. I would be more concerned about rolling with that set up though, IMO.
Something to consider for your strategy, they make floor brackets that slide and lock in several positions that you could use. This would allow you to run with the cooler a little forward to leave a gap, then move it backwards to position for drifting and fishing or whenever you need one protection vs the other. I’ll try to attach a link of one example of many out there.

 

[baker]

I’ll go counter on this. I like my door and would not ever remove it.....

I always had CC’s and never considered a pilot house boat until a few years ago. I used the boat until January and back in on march 1st. The pilot house was very comfortable even with no heater. Having the ability to close the door is a great option for me. I would rather sweat my xxxoff than be cold or wet, winter or summer. Parker owners, particularly pilot houses love their boats and seem to modify them to their liking so no right ir wrong just make your boat your own.
As far as eisingglass , for me forget it. I spent alot of time on other boats cleaning and polishing the eglass, both sides with lemon pledge almost daily. Of course they always looked great and lasted a long time, but give me my life back please.

 

[Cheapie408]

So I was looking at the pics of the new deck set up with the roll up door that replaced the real door for the sake of cooler storage……and the door being a hazard. You filled in the open notch transom so it won’t get any water from a following sea but now it will also not drain the deck if you take on water from the bow or sides and you are concerned about rolling over? It’s your boat and you made it the way you wanted it for what you use it for and that’s all that matters. I would be more concerned about rolling with that set up though, IMO.
Something to consider for your strategy, they make floor brackets that slide and lock in several positions that you could use. This would allow you to run with the cooler a little forward to leave a gap, then move it backwards to position for drifting and fishing or whenever you need one protection vs the other. I’ll try to attach a link of one example of many out there.

I was looking at those slides but didn't want anything permanent. Additionally those slides will take up additional real estate to mount. See I spent hours making these PVC rod holder only to throw it out after 1 trip to save space and drilled the rod holder to the cooler. The way I have it allows me to go back to full factory setup rather quickly.

As you see in these photos, the bottom of the cooler is elevated and the sides are not sealing so the self-bailing cockpit is fully functional, if anything this allows water to flow to the scupper faster than the factory installed one as the opening are much bigger. The notch transom was to prevent splashing. I've taken the boat out many times I can tell you that this is the next best thing to a close transom (for me).

I use a latching straps to hold the cooler down and the only time I would need to move it is when I lift the motor in the full up position.

 

[shawnee83]

Do you still have those boards mounted on either side of the hatch to level the cooler over the hatch? If so, that is the same footprint that the cooler slides take up. There are rollers on the part that slides out with the cooler. Your set up seems to be working for you just fine so all good. Enjoy the season.

 

[Cheapie408]

in addition to rising the cooler over the hatch, those PVC boards act as a slider for the cooler so the deck doesn't constantly get rubbed on. It also keeps the cooler from moving from side to side since the 4 corner bumpers kind of sit on the edge of those boards. We've gone out every week fishing 4 guys on this boat with absolutely no problems with this layout. The best part is we are not standing the full 8 hours.

The slides were one of the first thing I was considering but couldn't justify the price of it.

 

[jimjybe]

The door on my 2520 opens all the way flat against the wall, not an issue. Like to be able to lock it up when dockside dining or loading for the next day.

 

[Cheapie408]

The door on my 2520 opens all the way flat against the wall, not an issue. Like to be able to lock it up when dockside dining or loading for the next day.

There's a premium to pay and a lot of boating style adjustment to get there.