Lewmar hatch identification and repair.

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david36

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Good afternoon all,
Nine years of sun down South has damaged the hatch "glass" on our four Lewmar hatches to the extent that I am beginning to plan a repair/replacement session of the plastic/glass or whatever it is. However, there are two questions. Does anyone produce a suitable replacement kit for each size of hatch including the plastic/glass? I can not find anything mentioned on Lewmar sites. Second, is there any easy way to identify whether the hatches are low profile, medium profile or Ocean? I have lots of measurements of the various sizes but am not sure which version I have. I suspect that they are a mixture of Lewmar types.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Fair winds.
 
Eagle Windows are highly spoken of here, may be able to help you.

I have had two ' Ocean ' forehatches, the first was a ' rollstop ' the later one just has a stiff pivot to stop where one wants, both have red locks inside the handles, don't know if that helps !

Beware the bolt spacing was , surprisingly, different on each.

Seateach chandlery at Emsworth sell Lewmar hatches at relatively good prices but be absolutely crystal clear on what you want and what they are offering, they aren't too hot on measurements and details.
 
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Pete,

I don't think they do just lids unless something has changed, worth a try 01243 375774.

As I say, really pin them down as to all details and dimensions, I know more than one person who refuses to ever use them again after various problems inc a ' Houdini direct replacement ' hatch which had different bolt spacing and different deck aperture size, other than that it was a direct replacement !
 
I had to take the acrylic out of one of may hatches as the "professional" who had installed it did a right bodge job. Actually turned out to be fiddly but not difficult. Plenty of advice and spares here: http://hadlo-43547-001.dsvr.co.uk/Pages/Introduction.html# I bought double sided tape from Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Dou...Scrapbooking_Glue_Tape_EH&hash=item2a13604717 and the sealant from Dortech: http://www.dortechdirect.co.uk/window-accessories/Arbo-1081.html.

The tape sticks like you know what but the seal can be broken for later replacement (I checked on a scrap piece first). Get everything clean (acetone did it for me). Line the recess with tape and lower the acrylic in place. Weight it down and leave overnight. With the frame and acrylic masked off, pipe plenty of Arbosil round the gap. This goes off really quickly, so don't hang about before smoothing off with a wet finger.

Hope that helps.
 
David ..... my experience with Seatech has been generally good. They were able to correctly identify and supply replacement Perspex for my Lewmar hatches. The job of fitting them is reasonably straightforward - you remove the opening section in one piece then 'open' the frame to release the Perspex. The most difficult part can be the removal of the hinge pins which is a prerequisite for removal of the opening section. Make sure that you buy replacement pins as you may need to butcher the originals. The advice to check and double check the Seatech order is good - in my case they took payment for two items and mistakenly ordered only one. Lewmar service is very slow, so I suffered a long delay. Good luck!
 
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Seajet said:
I don't think they do just lids unless something has changed, worth a try 01243 375774.
Click to expand...

Mm - thanks to the links above I've identified ours as a Size 60 Coastline. Sadly has not been manufactured for many years so I guess spare lids will not be available. The sealing ridge has moved between this and the newer designs, so we can't just buy a new one and swap the lid - looks like we're going to have to replace the whole thing :(

What's the betting the holes are in the same place?

Pete
 
You don't say when you're planning to replace the 'glass' on your hatches, but I replaced all the crazed 'glasswork' on my Dehler 35 over 2 seasons, simply because it looked tatty - the crazing doesn't penetrate very deep into the acrylic/perspex, so its structural integrity isn't really affected.

The first season, I took off all the coachroof side windows & Moonlight opening ports and sent them off to Project Plastics in Colchester. They identified the material & had replacements back to me within a day or two.

The second season, I took the lids from the (mid-90's) Lewmar Ocean hatches, cut out the acrylics using a stanley knife and sent them off to Project Plastics, and again had new ones within a day or two. Fitting the new acrylics was fiddly but rewarding. Use Sikaflex 295UV and download hints and tips from Sikaflex website. The depth of sealant on my Lewmar hatches was deep enough to need applicantion in two 'layers'.

Using Project palstics saved a lot of grief. They identify the material/thickness/tint level etc, cut to size, drill all the holes etc, using the originals as a template, so it doesn't matter what 'model' they're from. They are a lot cheaper than buying from manufacturer, and (as I know from experience) their service is much better. This is the fourth boat's acryics they've made for me.

If postage to-from Colchester is an issue, there may be a plastics manufacturer in your area who can do this.

Hope this helps.

Hope this helps.
 
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