Hatches

[Relax]

My forepeak Houdini hatch appears to have come to the end of its one score years (or whatever it is hatches get allotted) and drips anoyingly in the rain (and onto SWMBO - self having long retired to the quarter berth pleading length issues).

The thing is apart from the seal round the glass bit, which is visibly decayed, there does'nt appear to be much wrong with it. The seal is the white putty-like stuff and not a rubber type.

Anyone have any bright ideas as to how to replace the seal or do I have to fork out the £180 or so on a new one and bear the tedium of fitting it?

 

[orizaba]

probablly is putty or sealant ,carefully remove the "glass bit"
clean all faces and rebed in a suitable sealant ,one of the sikaflexes would be your best bet i would have thought.
but it is no good trying to seal over what is there as it will probablly still leak,
if you have to unscrew anything try pouring boiling water on the screws etc first,the heat sometimes helps to release them

 

[mainmarine]

have you tried "Capt Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure", it sealed my Houdini after a couple of applications, or you could make a fabric cover. By the way Seateach do a direct replacement with a modern hatch which can be locked from inside or out.

 

[CPD]

http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/bbCMS/bbCMSrenderPage.asp

.... might be a good place to start looking for replacements.

 

[Relax]

Its a possibility - the problem is the seal line is very thin - couple of mm at most I'd guess - so it may be a prob getting it in neatly.

On the other hand if it saved a couple of hundred................

Could be the only solution cos as far as I can remember the lid part is rivetted together.

 

[ChasB]

Apparently Sikaflex 295UV is the stuff you use - the UV bit refers to it's ability to handle sunlight (though you don't really get a lot of that in Scotland do you?).

Just got a mail from C-Quip who have just received the replacement port lights I need from Bomar in the US - 3 months after I ordered them!

 

[gandy]

Hi there,

Our hatch was leaking nicely last year, between the glazing and the frame. Fingers crossed we fixed it with the following process.
- Rake out the sealant from the gap between the glass and frame, as deep as I could go. The gap was about a mm or so wide, by the time I finished there was a narrow slot all the way round the glass.
- Stick masking tape onto the glass and frame leaving only the slot exposed
- Squirt Sikaflex into the gap, all the way round.
- When fully set, I trimmed the Sikaflax level with a knife (I'd made quite a mess) and removed the masking tape.

It seems to work for us, and has maybe put off the evil day for a few years.

 

[gandy]

By the way, is this you earlier this "summer" ?

 

[Relax]

Tis indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On our way to the west coast - never have so many gale warnings been packed into such a short period.

Spent seven weeks down at Appin - would do this again - you get far better use of the thing than on the east coast. Weather was a bummer tho'. Should have a spray hood and a cockpit tent for next year.

I will try the fix with the hatch. The things coming out end of October so I will remove the hatch lid and take into the garage to do - better chance of success??

 

[gandy]

[ QUOTE ]
.. I will remove the hatch lid and take into the garage to do - better chance of success??

[/ QUOTE ] Good idea. I couldn't work out how to remove the lid without breaking it, so did the work in-place. Sods law, as soon as the Sikaflex was in place it started raining so there was a made rush around taping polythene over the work.