Cutting a door in your boat’s transom need not be undertaken with fear and dread; the process can take one weekend or less–with the right tools–and makes sense if you’ve added a swim platform on the stern (back) of your boat. Watertightness is no more an issue with a transom door than it is with any other hatch or door and affects neither the buoyancy nor stability of your boat. The only question might be related to the position of deck hardware; a stud finder from a hardware store will help solve that problem.

This was a real challenge. Not only is the transom on a negative angle but it is also heavily curved. Probably why the builder decided against a transom door in the first place.

We cut the opening in the transom and then used a trusted partner vendor to add structural fiberglass stiffeners to the inside of the fiberglass transom. We then made a stainless steel door frame, custom pantographic hinges and a locking mechanism like no other. All made from 316L stainless steel and brought to a mirror finish. To assist with operation we added Izrewaren gas shocks.

The door works beautifully and has opened up the garage for guests and crew like never before.