asabay
New member
is houdini hatches all standard sizes, i have one on my colvic that needs replace ???
houdini hatches
- Thread starter asabay
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Tranona
Well-known member
Google is your friend houdini-marine.co.uk/hatches
LittleSister
Well-known member
Note that there may be a small but potentially significant difference in the size of the frame of a new one compared to the old.
I replaced a Houdini hatch a few years back with a direct replacement from Houdini. The original had given good service for several decades, but eventually suddenly started leaking (as from reports seems common), and the particular location of the leak (in way of the hinges? I can't remember for sure) didn't appear to be amenable to amateur (or at least this amateur) repair. I was surprised and pleased I was able to obtain a direct replacement, the cost was not outrageous as far as I recall, and it was delivered swiftly and efficiently. (One may also feel noble supporting a remaining British manufacturer!)
The new one was the same nominal size as the original, and looked identical on the outside (a good thing, as I think it very much suited the particular boat), and near identical on the inside (the handles, the raised 'lands' they bear on when closed, and IIRC the arrangement for propping it open are slightly different). I removed the old hatch, but found (a) the pre-drilled holes in the new hatch frame did not align with the old ones, and more crucially (b) the frame was just a few millimetres wider than the original and the existing opening in the coachroof. I sought to slightly widen the opening in the coachroof of my boat to accommodate this, but the thickness and arrangement of the timber and GRP involved made this surprisingly challenging, and I was on a swinging mooring with no access to power and had limited tools available. (Not to mention that I lack patience and endurance!) Running out of time and fair weather, I solved the problem by inserting the new hatch in the old frame. This has proved satisfactory, except it needed the addition of a small thickness of material to either the hatch handles or the raised lands they bear against when closed (not quite as simple as it might sound, but not a major challenge), in order that the hatch is clamped firmly closed against the frame and hence fully water-tight.
I suspect the differences in the frame size and positions of the holes in the frame are within the manufacturers seemingly rather loose tolerances, rather than a 'manufacturing fault' as such. They would probably not be a problem when cutting a new opening for a new hatch, but might or might not be when replacing an existing hatch in an existing opening.
I replaced a Houdini hatch a few years back with a direct replacement from Houdini. The original had given good service for several decades, but eventually suddenly started leaking (as from reports seems common), and the particular location of the leak (in way of the hinges? I can't remember for sure) didn't appear to be amenable to amateur (or at least this amateur) repair. I was surprised and pleased I was able to obtain a direct replacement, the cost was not outrageous as far as I recall, and it was delivered swiftly and efficiently. (One may also feel noble supporting a remaining British manufacturer!)
The new one was the same nominal size as the original, and looked identical on the outside (a good thing, as I think it very much suited the particular boat), and near identical on the inside (the handles, the raised 'lands' they bear on when closed, and IIRC the arrangement for propping it open are slightly different). I removed the old hatch, but found (a) the pre-drilled holes in the new hatch frame did not align with the old ones, and more crucially (b) the frame was just a few millimetres wider than the original and the existing opening in the coachroof. I sought to slightly widen the opening in the coachroof of my boat to accommodate this, but the thickness and arrangement of the timber and GRP involved made this surprisingly challenging, and I was on a swinging mooring with no access to power and had limited tools available. (Not to mention that I lack patience and endurance!) Running out of time and fair weather, I solved the problem by inserting the new hatch in the old frame. This has proved satisfactory, except it needed the addition of a small thickness of material to either the hatch handles or the raised lands they bear against when closed (not quite as simple as it might sound, but not a major challenge), in order that the hatch is clamped firmly closed against the frame and hence fully water-tight.
I suspect the differences in the frame size and positions of the holes in the frame are within the manufacturers seemingly rather loose tolerances, rather than a 'manufacturing fault' as such. They would probably not be a problem when cutting a new opening for a new hatch, but might or might not be when replacing an existing hatch in an existing opening.
asabay
New member
Thanks for the quick reply and the info very interesting
RivalRedwing
Well-known member
If it is the acrylic that has failed it might be worth a conversation with Hadlow Marine http://hadlowmarine.com/Pages/Introduction.html
snowbird30ds
Well-known member
I replaced the hatch in my 80's princess last year, by age I would assume the original to be houdini so bought a new houdini and only issue was a couple of screw holes had changed position, old holes under the seal so no real issue.
It was the job for the weekend and ended up taking 30 minutes, more time for beer!
It was the job for the weekend and ended up taking 30 minutes, more time for beer!
LittleSister
Well-known member
They use glass.