Deck hatch replacement or repair??

[Parker]

Has anyone ever tried to replace or repair a deck hatch? Not sure if Albin manufactured themselves or used a subcontractor.

Thought I saw some discussion on this a few years ago but can't seem to find.

Thanks

[DougSea]

Has anyone ever tried to replace or repair a deck hatch? Not sure if Albin manufactured themselves or used a subcontractor.

Thought I saw some discussion on this a few years ago but can't seem to find.

Thanks

When I was trading in Sonny III the condition of the in deck hatches was making me paranoid that the broker wouldn't take her. The starboard hatch was so bad I didn't think repair was possible so I made a pair of hatches out of plywood. I used a nice 1/2 birch plywood for the upper layer and a piece of "regular" 3/8" for the bottom, for a total of 1 1/8" of thickness. I used West System epoxy to glue the two pieces together, along with screws. Once they dried I test fit them, sanded down the corners, then coated them with 3 coats of West System with the 207 "Special Hardner", which brushes on more easily.

Because I didn't want ANY water to intrude I then drilled out the hole when the pull handle went with a 3/4" hole, filled it with yet more West System (with filler) and then drilled the 1/4" hole for the pull.

Same basic idea with the bolts for the hinges.

When that was all set I painted them with grey Interlux paint with non-skid beads added. I was VERY happy with the end result, and mad that I hadn't done it sooner!

When they were all in place I thought they looked great!

Because of the epoxy and the filling of the holes they really should last forever, there is no place where water should be able to get in and it didn't take a lot more effort to make them this way.

If you have any questions let me know, I'll look tomorrow to see if I have any pictures.

[Parker]

I appreciate the info. FYI - found out that Albin used to make the hatches themselves. Either a winter project or I'll find a local fiberglass shop.