Cabin Door Sticking - 1998 SR 215 ec

[FiremistSLK]

My sliding cabin door is very hard to slide open or closed. I realize these doors are a poor design as they do not have roller balls or trucks in the tracks. But before I try to help the door slide more easily by adding some friction reducing compound to the track like grease or silicone, I was wondering if anyone here as had this issiue and how you addressed it. Is there a kit that converts the slide to a roller ball or truck system?.. Thanks....

 

[Lazy Daze]

In a fully functioning, "healthy" system, it actually moves very easily. But at almost a quarter century old... well, things do wear out. What does happen, though, is that dirt, dog hair and junk gets caught up in the track and binds things up. Often, previous owners don't know to clean this area. Before I replaced them, the first thing I would do is to spray some Simple Green in there (top and bottom) and let it set for a few minutes. Then use a hose with a nozzle on it to try and blast things out - do it a couple times. Don't be gentle - full force! Any type of grease that is applied will just attract more dirt.

 

[FiremistSLK]

Thanks, LD. I have some simple green on hand and I'll give it a try tomorrow. This boat has been in fresh water only it's entire life. Therefore, the track is not clogged with leftover salt... The track looks clean as if no one has ever tried to grease it. So after I thoroughly clean the track I will not grease it either.

 

[DougLas]

Use candle wax on the sliding area top and bottom.

 

[FiremistSLK]

Regular candle wax? Like what you would buy at Hobby Lobby to make candles?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yup - beeswax is a little slippier, but a regular old candle is fine, too. The downside is that it's a little awkward and you can only get about half the track. A dry, silicone spray would work, too. The wax works really well on zippers, though!

It should, however, move smoothly with no lubrication at all. If it's still hard to move, then disassembly and replacement is the fix.

 

[FiremistSLK]

Been there done that with the disassembly route. I had a 240 Dancer with a door that would not move at all! I wrote to Sea Ray and thay sent me drawings of how the helm was screwed to the deck. I had to remove the helm to remove the door to get to the door tracks! Not fun....I'll try the bees wax first.. Thanks...

 

[Lazy Daze]

Been there done that with the disassembly route. I had a 240 Dancer with a door that would not move at all! I wrote to Sea Ray and thay sent me drawings of how the helm was screwed to the deck. I had to remove the helm to remove the door to get to the door tracks! Not fun....I'll try the bees wax first.. Thanks...

Yup - done that a couple times over the years on various boats. Once you do it a few times, it's actually not that big of a deal. On some boats, you have to remove at least the stbd wing mirror to tilt the console back - but even that is pretty straight forward.

 

[FiremistSLK]

I can see half of the bottom track that is under the helm by removing the access door in the head. I'll clean the track with Simple Green and apply the dry silicone spray on that half. Then, I'll fully open the door and spray the other half of the bottom track. I can spray the top half of the track that remains under the helm by adding an extension to the small tube on the silicone can.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I can spray the top half of the track that remains under the helm by adding an extension to the small tube on the silicone can.

Or just remove the instrument panel - it's only a couple screws and gives you better access so you don't have to try and guess if the spray is getting where you want it to go.

 

[FiremistSLK]

Good Idea! I'll do that....