Forward Hatch Replacement 2
On Mar 19, 2023, at 11:47 AM, David Wadson dwadson@dwadson.com wrote:
We had the opportunity this winter to score a fantastic deal on a Lewmar 70 Ocean-series hatch to replace the stock plexiglass hatch on our 1978. Asides from the aged plexiglass being crazed and having some extra holes from old hardware, the wood framing that the support arm and latch are screwed into is cracking and no longer holding the hardware securely. Plus, overall it's not the most robust hatch setup relying mostly on some weatherstripping to keep the rain and big waves out. With last years headliner replacement in the salon progressing into the v-berth this year, we figured it would be a good time to also replace the hatch.
We've seen the fantastic job that Barker's Island Marina in Duluth, MN did with Galatea's front hatch and have a good idea of what's involved as well as setting a high standard of workmanship which we will likely not attain! Haha!
Rather than trying to source teak and fabricating a frame such as they did to give the flat surface necessary for the new hatch, we're thinking of just building up a flat surface for the hatch to sit on and covering it with fiberglass. We're planning on painting the deck anyways and it would be one less piece of wood to be varnishing.
Has anyone else done a similar hatch replacement or have any suggestion or tips on tackling this?
Thanks,
David and Cara
Jubilee - 1978 Islander 36
Thunder Bay, Ontario
Hi - we just did this ourselves - rather we paid someone to do it :) I don't remember the exact Lewmar model. It turned out very well - looks like factory new. We were doing a paint job in conjunction so it made sense. One decision we went back and forth on and settled on was to remove the deep drainage channel, you can see that in one of the pictures here. It made painting and prepping a lot simpler with a flat surface.
As they are professional glass workers, they made a proper male mold and then did a fiberglass part from it. I've also attached a nearly final photo that shows the midship hatch replaced in a similar manner.
