Author Topic: Hatch Removal  (Read 6297 times)

Valor

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Hatch Removal
« on: May 31, 2017, 04:22:41 PM »
Hi Everyone,

Like everyone else at some point, my hatches require a little TLC. The hatches  appear to be attached from the topside of the boat. To those of you that have removed, rebuilt and reinstalled your hatches, I have a few questions I couldn't find any answers to.

1- Are they through bolted or do they just screw into the core of the deck?

2- Once they are removed, can they be completely disassembled?

3- Is there an interior liner to deck gap that needs to be closed up similar to the removal and resealing procedures of the cabin ports?

4- Aside from the hatch lid to hatch base 9/16th round gasket, is the hatch base to deck sealed with butyl tape or is there a gasket needed?

5- Does the interior white trim ring or headliner need to be removed to remove the hatch?

Is there a cheaper alternative to the 9/16th round gasket that seals the hatch lid to the hatch base?  It's 6.99 per foot at Defender and if my math is right  I'm going to need close to 14 feet to seal both lids??? It sounds kind of crazy to pay $100 for a piece of foam gasket?

Thanks in advance!

Michael
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 04:42:31 PM by Valor »
Michael M

1978 Pearson 323 Hull #108.
Yanmar 3GM30F

selene

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Re: Hatch Removal
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2017, 02:57:33 PM »
It's been a few years since I did this, but as I recall removing and re-installing the hatch is pretty easy. In my case it was done to rotate the aft hatch so I could install a rigid boom vang.

First remove all the screws on the plastic trim, and remove the trim. When you do this, you will see how the hatch is attached.  As I recall it is bolted - screws into the core are not a good idea! And Pearson makes quality boats...

The hatch/deck seal used the dreaded silicon caulking.  I removed this (scraping, and eventually sanding) and then used butyl tape to bed it down. Removing the old caulking took more time than anything else.

I do not recall any voids needing filling/sealing - so nothing like the ports.  Personally I would not want to permanently epoxy the head liners in place, as I may want to remove them at some stage for adding new hardware.

So I know, a bit light on details, but the removal was very quick, easy and intuitive!

I also replaced the round foam gasket. Can be done with the hatches in situ. Cost me $82 in 2012. Double sided tape to hold it in place, superglue to seal the cut ends together. Much better seal than the old dry, cracked ones.  A friend suggested wiping all gaskets with Vaseline every 6 months or so, to ensure a good seal, and prevent them from drying out. Don't know if that is a good idea or not..he has some odd ideas sometimes...

I think I got the foam from Pompanette/Bomar, but they seem to be dropping old Bomar products as the Bomar website (pompanette.com/bomar) now no longer exists.

I hope this helps.

Alma

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Re: Hatch Removal
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2017, 09:46:15 PM »
I just removed and re-did ALMA's hatches this Spring. I used stripper to remove all the paint. Stripper and a pressure washer got the hatches pretty clean. I'm leaving them raw Al. A neighbor gave me a big Bomar hatch that had no mounting screws holding the acrylic to the Al frames. One of the tabs that held the opening braces was broken so I took all the expensive hardware off for spares. These parts from Bomar/Pompinette are stupid expensive. I removed the acrylic from the gifted hatch and used it for ALMA's forward hatch. I bonded it without mounting screws. It looks fantastic.

I cut down ALMA's front hatch acrylic to fit the midships hatch (eliminating all the old mounting holes) and bonded that piece to to midships hatch.

My boat #74 uses stubby self tapping screws into the deck with plywood chunks under to give the screws more threading cross section. ALMA's hatches are not held to deck with machine screws and nuts.

I used butyl calk to set the hatches on the deck.

They do not leak. But it has only been a month.


Valor

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Re: Hatch Removal
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2017, 08:40:32 AM »
Thank you men. So on Alma's boat, the hatches have screws and on Selene's boat the hatches are bolted. HMM. I guess it's a roll of the dice then. Just for future reference, I did find a vendor that sells the hatch lid gasket material for 4.90 a foot which is 2 dollars per foot cheaper then everywhere else. That's almost $30 cheaper!  WooWhoo!  Here is the link ----> http://www.downwindmarine.com/Bomar-Hatch-Gasket-p-90891550.html

Thanks again for the advice!

Michael
Michael M

1978 Pearson 323 Hull #108.
Yanmar 3GM30F