What the ......?

[edw]

A true gentleman! I look forward to your input. Please have a safe and happy holiday.

Ed

[Grafunkus]

Ed,
As promised, here are some photos of our entry hatch. Hope that they help. The top one is sideways - sorry. The second one is looking up at the hatch. The next two are the inside and the last one is the top (outside). Hope that this helps you with fixing yours.
Barb

[km1125]

Mine looked very much like what Grafunkus just posted, with a couple of exceptions. Looks like someone had disassembled theirs and put some type of laminate on the top. The visible screw holes where there used to be plugged screw holes is a clue to that. I had disassembled mine at one point, but used plugs when I reassembled it. Also, mine only had one latch, on the inboard side, not two like his shows. Same kind of latch and in the same place as mine on the inboard side. You open the door, then reach up underneath to latch/unlatch the top. The "pull" on the top (the wood piece that goes across the top) on his looks also a little taller and narrower than what I had on mine. I might have replaced that when I redid mine but can't remember as that was over 15 years ago.

But overall, mine looked the same and worked the same as theirs.

[edw]

OK, it's obvious that my hatch isn't original. Mine is some sort of polycarbonate, and there is no provision for that inner panel. I'll have to make and install one. Is there any sort of weather seal on the aft face of the board? The area contacting the doors.

I'm going to the marina today, will take a few more pics of what I have.

Thanks to all for your interest and support. Hope y'all (Yeah, I do live in the south) have a safe, hapy holiday and a better 2021.

Ed

[km1125]

There was not an original seal on the vertical board that the doors touch when they close.

I added a foam strip there. Since the hatch overhangs the doors a few inches and has that second angled part is farther aft from the doors, it's virtually impossible for water to get in there. Without any weatherstrip there would be a tiny gap that air could get in/out but that would be fractional compared to all the other ways that air get in and out of the interior of the boat. I really was more concerned with the ends of that vertical board, as there's a good 3/8 to 1/2" clearance from it to the fiberglass on both sides. I rigged a couple pieces of foam there too and that worked for a few years but always thought there might be a better way to seal that part.

One way that I explored would be milling a slot in each end and gluing a thin strip of rubber in there, working as a wiper as you slide the hatch fore and aft.

There is a thread somewhere on this site where one of the owners remade his hatch with cored fiberglass. Did a very nice job too.

At some point mine was going to be needing rework again. I was exploring redoing the whole area, raising the base for the captains seat. That would allow you to hinge the enterway hatch and just raise it instead of sliding it back each time. The actual design never got beyond the dream stage though.

[km1125]

It shouldn't be a big deal for you to make that vertical piece and add it to your current hatch, seeing as your hatch does slide farther aft..

Take a piece of cardboard with you. Open the hatch but close the doors and lay the piece of cardboard across the top of the doors so it's level and so you can trim the left and right side to fit closely. THen close the hatch and see where you'd need to cut the top to match the hatch. Cut a similar piece of any acceptable material... could be wood, PVC, ABS or Starboard then drill a couple holes from the top and mount it. You could add another strip of material over the screws on the top to cover the screws too, which also acts as a "pull" when you're closing the top.

[Grafunkus]

Source of the post A true gentleman! I look forward to your input. Please have a safe and happy holiday.

Ed

On a different note, I would like to point out that I am no "gentleman"!!

[edw]

My sincerest apology. It is obvious from your signature pic that you are, indeed, a lovely lady. I just now realized that the pic in the sig block is you, after seeing your signature in your last reply. Boat or spouse pictures are not uncommon.
Your husband is a lucky guy to have someone whose interests parallel his own.

Ed