Deck hatch refurbishment or replace

mrangry

mrangry

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 Jun 2007
Messages
955
Location
Clyde
Visit site
The acrylic on the deck hatches in my Moody 33 mk 1 are all crazed and some needing re sealed and cleaned up. They are basically all needing a good seeing to but I am undecided whether to go down the route of buying new ones or get them refurbished by the likes of Eagle Boat Windows. I have read many posts where people have used this company (and others) for hatch refurbs but no one mentions cost. I would be grateful to hear any input from anyone who has any idea on ball park costs for hatch refurbs against replacement.
 
I replaced one on my previous boat (Southerly 95) several years ago. I remember that quotes were expensive and that the DIY job was pretty simple. It was perfect and looked like a new hatch when finished. Cost was fairly small and it never leaked or showed any signs of working loose.

The biggest problem was finding tinted poly-carbonate. Sorry that I can't give figures for the quote I received but I seem to remember they were more than 50% of cost of a new hatch (& it was a good quality one so expensive).

Quick summary in case you do want to try a DIY job:
1) My aluminium frame was perfect and good quality, no signs of corrosion anywhere. That's why I decided to refurbish rather than replace with new.

2) I took my time during winter. Removed the hatch and took it home with a temp. ply cover over the hole. Square of ply, bolt through the middle & into a piece of wood underneath, then tighten up & put some sealant around the bolt.

3) Old crazed poly-carbonate removed using a stanley knife. Slow but not a big deal.

4) Even if you decide to pay someone it's cheaper to do 1 & 2 yourself. So well worth trying it and then see if you feel like doing it all yourself.

5) I bought the new poly-carbonate at this point but had already checked that it would be available. I did have some problem finding the correct tint, thickness and material. It was easy to cut and I just used the old crazed material as a template.

6) I'll check but think I bedded the new sheet into place with Arbosil tape. Other suppliers said I'd need a chemical etch and could only supply large quantities at huge cost. Arbosil tech. guy said their stuff would be fine with after abrading all surfaces. He suggested the tape and sealant to use. I can probably dig out details but it was several years ago. Might be better options now (see what others say).

7) I filled the gap with the new poly-carbonate held in place by the tape underneath (& weighed down with a lead weight). Trimmed both sides when everything had set and replaced frame on boat.
 
Last edited:
QD plastics in Dumbarton can supply and fit new perspex for your hatches. I just replaced (DIY) a large and small hatch for £70. If you are handy with a drill it a relatively simple job. I don't know how much they would charge for fitting the perspex but it would be a fraction of the cost of new hatches.

Their address..
Elm Rd, Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire
01389 762377

Give them a call they are very helpful.
 
Just checked my old paperwork and SWMBO had a clean out at New Year. I couldn't find the receipts for work on the hatch. I have bought Perspex for windows from Stockline in Glasgow and they usually have off-cuts at reasonable prices. I've used them for several bits of Perspex over the years.

I think that I visited them the day before the place blew up in 2004. I remember because the bang happened on my birthday, so a lucky escape as I almost put off collecting the Perspex until the next day.

I'm pretty certain I used polycarbonate instead of Perspex because it was a forehatch and I did trips to Holland, Germany etc. most years. So I was more worried about strength than scratch resistance.

I seem to remember that tinted Perspex was a lot easier to find in the required thickness.
 
If it's a Rollstop, as on other Moody boats, a Stanley knife will have the old perspex out in a couple of minutes, just cut down around the frame and then push out. Take the old piece to a supplier for use as a template. Drill the holes then bed the new piece in with a weight on top, don't refit for a couple of days until sealant has gone off. Cost me about 30 euro for new perspex cut to size.
 
Main forehatch cost me about £60 iirc and the transformation was great. A new hatch would have cost several hundred. Acrylic was machined and drilled perfectly. Took an hour or so to do. I did a few smaller hatches too, they all look great.
 
Ok quick update. I got a quote today to refurb two hatches:
52cm x 39cm = £172.25
40cm x 20cm = £100.20
Postage not included

Whilst this is cheaper than replacing with new I am unsure whether it is significantly cheaper to justify the expense?
I am going to call the place in Dumbarton tomorrow to check the cost of just replacing the acrylic and decide on which way to go.

I would prefer to keep the original ones as they only need a clean up (which I can do myself) and re-glazed and I do not need to alter the arpeture or mounting holes if I reuse the originals..
 
Slipstream 34 said:
QD plastics in Dumbarton can supply and fit new perspex for your hatches. I just replaced (DIY) a large and small hatch for £70. If you are handy with a drill it a relatively simple job. I don't know how much they would charge for fitting the perspex but it would be a fraction of the cost of new hatches.

Their address..
Elm Rd, Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire
01389 762377

Give them a call they are very helpful.
Click to expand...

QD don't actually replace the acrylic themselves, but are happy to supply material and plenty of advice..

Regards

Donald
 
Mistroma said:
Just checked my old paperwork and SWMBO had a clean out at New Year. I couldn't find the receipts for work on the hatch. I have bought Perspex for windows from Stockline in Glasgow and they usually have off-cuts at reasonable prices. I've used them for several bits of Perspex over the years.

I think that I visited them the day before the place blew up in 2004. I remember because the bang happened on my birthday, so a lucky escape as I almost put off collecting the Perspex until the next day.

I'm pretty certain I used polycarbonate instead of Perspex because it was a forehatch and I did trips to Holland, Germany etc. most years. So I was more worried about strength than scratch resistance.

I seem to remember that tinted Perspex was a lot easier to find in the required thickness.
Click to expand...

Polycarbonate is not as UV stable as acrylic. 'Perspex' (branded acrylic) is guaranteed UV stable for 10 years. Polycarbonate will start going opaque after 4-6 years depending on environment. Polycarbonate is not available in as many tints as acrylic.

Regards

Donald
 
UV resistance does ring a bell. I couldn't find a receipt for polycarbonate but did find an old receipt for a fairly thick off-cut of Perspex. It was a several years back so my memory might be playing tricks. I do remember worrying about strength vs. acrylic and finding that the old material was thicker than I'd expected. Pretty certain that I'd have carried out calcs. to be happy that chosen material was strong enough (i.e. close to strength of surrounding deck). Unfortunately, I've cleared out a lot of old files and also might have left a lot of stuff at work when I retired.

My refurbished hatch was still as new when I sold the boat about 5-6 years after replacing it so UV didn't seem to be a problem (whatever it was I used).

OPs comments about cost do seem to agree with my "faded" memory that qotes were expensive enough to make me think about buying a new hatch. I remember having problems finding an exact match (make, size, design) and that pushed me to try DIY (same as OP).
 
Last edited:
I have the hatches out and all ready to go to QD Plastics to have new panels measured, cut and drilled. My next quandy is where to source the gasket seal which is looking a bit past its best now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top