Forward hatch

[dgetswet]

On my 2005 28TE I had a leak in the forward hatch. So I spoke with a friend who recommended taking it off. Cleaning the area with acid tone and then putting a bead of boat light around the area. He said tighten screws halfway and return the next day to screw all the way down. This will make a nice bead. It sounded like it made sense so I took it off cleaned it up and then noticed on the bottom of the hatch that goes on the boat it has a foam around the rim of the hatch. SO when I asked him how to do it with the foam he didn't know.

So does anyone have any knowledge of this ? All I want to do is stop the leak.

[Nancy]

I'd call Bomar or check their web site for an installation manual or troubleshooting document. I'm guessing you'll want a new foam gasket. Then remove the old sealant from the rim and re-bed as recommended, very possibly with Boat Life as your friend suggested.

[catalina_mike]

West Marine can order the gaskets if your m/n is still visible. The Commodore wanted a shiny one so I replaced the entire assembly with polished stainless...

[Sisu22]

Seconded on calling Bomar. I had a great exchange with their customer service folks. Mine also leaks, it is ten model years older though. Not sure if I have the same foam. Bomar sells parts direct, I was able to get the part I needed from Defender however, because Bomar was out of stock on that particular trim pice.

[hatchetjoe]

Were you able to tell exactly where the leak was coming from? When my hatch was leaking it came under the gasket between the hatch and the rim. I tried replacing the gasket but found that the old hatch had warped so much over the years that it still didn't seal with the new gasket. I tried adjusting and shimming the locks to pull the hatch down tighter but that didn't work either. After a lot of frustration I bought a new hatch. The new Bomar hatch did not come with a foam gasket for sealing to the deck. I used butyl rubber tape to set the new hatch and so far no more leaks.

There are a number of reports that hatches do leak between the rim and the deck they are seated on so your friend's suggestion makes sense if that is where the leak was coming in.

[dgetswet]

Were you able to tell exactly where the leak was coming from? When my hatch was leaking it came under the gasket between the hatch and the rim. I tried replacing the gasket but found that the old hatch had warped so much over the years that it still didn't seal with the new gasket. I tried adjusting and shimming the locks to pull the hatch down tighter but that didn't work either. After a lot of frustration I bought a new hatch. The new Bomar hatch did not come with a foam gasket for sealing to the deck. I used butyl rubber tape to set the new hatch and so far no more leaks.

There are a number of reports that hatches do leak between the rim and the deck they are seated on so your friend's suggestion makes sense if that is where the leak was coming in.

Thanks for that in formation. I did try my friends idea and I can tell you I did screw it up a bit. I did screw it up a bit as this was never my strong point. So I have some cleaning to do. as I made a mess trying to do it under the shrink wrap. And I see I still have a small leak now in a different place. Yes I'm on the Constant Struggle

[Sisu22]

I just pulled my hatch and did the re-seal job this weekend. Used 3M 4200 to seal it, I did not note any foam between the deck and the aluminum seal.