Leaking forehatch woe

[Lucky Duck]

This weekend's heavy rain has revealed that water appears to be able to get in through the gap between the Perspex and the Frame. (For some reason this doesn't seem to be an issue with the green stuff)

Would be a simple job to redo the sealant or is a replacement the likely long term solution?

Hatch type is a Rutgerson

 

[baggypipes]

when i had a leak on a forehatch i 'removed the perspex a good clean of both serfaces then resealed with PU18' bought via ebay. works very well, hope this helps
good luck

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

when i had a leak on a forehatch i 'removed the perspex a good clean of both serfaces then resealed with PU18' bought via ebay. works very well, hope this helps
good luck

yes agree.....
carefully clean out sealant if possible, knife around edges if you can. Ease out the Perspex very carefully so as not to damage.... patience a virtue!

If it comes out o.k. then a clean up of any debris with a sharp backwards scraping action from a Stanley blade may be o.k. and to degrease the surface I'd probably use acetone to ensure new sealant/adhesive will find a clean and willing substrate. Don't get acetone on the see-through areas of the Perspex hatch, it will possibly mist it over.

I've used 3m 5200 to do similar jobs. It's very high quality and sticks well and doesn't go rock hard.

best of luck

S

 

[SimonD]

Very useful Hadlow Marine website here: http://hadlo-43547-001.dsvr.co.uk/Pages/Introduction.html# Features pretty comprehensive instructions on replacing the perspex. I actually found it much easier in practice. I got double sided foam tape from ebay and Arbosil 1081 direct from Dortech direct.

Good luck!

 

[Pye_End]

I did the same to a Canpa hatch, but bought a kit from Eagle which had foam tape, sealant, primer and instructions. Worked well.

 

[makingplansfor]

I got to work with the silicon gun. Thin bead around the edge on the inside and worked in with a wet finger has seen me ok all season. Putting off the inevitable I know but really surprised that it worked so well!

 

[mdonnelly]

One of those creeping crack cures sorted my similar leak earlier in the year. Remains dry so far.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Yes I've used Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack recently to quickly stop a drip and it did the job instantly.

Silicon...... does the job short term but in my experience NOT THE THING TO USE as it's an absolute b.....d to get the surfaces cleaned of the stuff and so

unable to accept anything else afterwards as a seal for the long term.

In my humble opinion, never use silicon products on any part of the boat!

S.

 

[Tranona]

If it is the style of Rutgerson hatch I had on my boat from new it is almost impossible to stop the leak and the hatches were replaced under warranty with Gebos.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I suspect so, certainly the hatch originaly fitted to the boat had to be replaced under warranty due to it leaking on the 'leading edge'. As the current one has lasted 8 odd years I will go the creeping crack cure a go.

 

[clyst]

Had a similar leaky hatch after repair I had a protective canvas cover made for use when not onboard .... Not a fortune £45 . no problem since .

 

[jakeroyd]

A word of advice if using Cpn Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure.
It's very thin for obvious reasons so it can start flowing out of the frame you have applied it to and you might not see it.
It might be a good idea to put something at the bottom to absorb it and feed it in from the top.

How do I know?
big blobs of it on my side decks that are proving very difficult to get off.

Note , it will fix tiny breaks in the sealant but not wide ones.

 

[makingplansfor]

In my humble opinion, never use silicon products on any part of the boat!

S.

What no silicon..... you'll be telling me not to use gaffer tape and tie-wraps next