My sliding hatch cover finally broke and I need to replace it. I see a lot of posts, but no real answers as to a solution. Can anyone help me??
7.3 main hatch cover
- Thread starter doughatch
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Do you still have the old hatch?
The forward hatch on my friends S2 7.3 broke and he superglued it back together. Of course you can see the seam.
If you have the old hatch you can use it as a template to make a new one. The curve is the tricky part. You have to heat the lexan until it is soft, and then lay it over your template to get the curve. It will harden as it cools and then the curve will be permanent.
Hope this helps...
The forward hatch on my friends S2 7.3 broke and he superglued it back together. Of course you can see the seam.
If you have the old hatch you can use it as a template to make a new one. The curve is the tricky part. You have to heat the lexan until it is soft, and then lay it over your template to get the curve. It will harden as it cools and then the curve will be permanent.
Hope this helps...
The previous owner of my boat had one made. He did all of the machining and built a jig to bend the right radius in...the trick was finding someone with a big enough oven to bend it...he said it was a royal pain and expensive. Acrylic is a better material to use. Try www.selectplastics.com and see if they can help you out.
do you have wood working skills or know some one that does if so i will help you make a mold to form one on and you can use a pizza oven to heat the plastic and lay it on while still hot and let it settel in the shape and let it cool ......the mold is like making a model air plane wing only larger .....
regards
woody
7.3 Hatch Cover
I can work with wood to some extent. Do you have paper templates that would work? How much heat in the oven?
And do you want to make me one !!!??? I'll pay!
Thanks for your reply.
Doug
I can work with wood to some extent. Do you have paper templates that would work? How much heat in the oven?
And do you want to make me one !!!??? I'll pay!
Thanks for your reply.
Doug
Other than a pizza oven, how else could I apply uniform heat? I don't think a propane torch would get the acrylic or lexan uniformly soft . . .
thanks for your reply.
Doug
thanks for your reply.
Doug
Not sure how much room you have, but:
You can place a sheet of metal on top of some cinderblocks or bricks, build a box big enough for your hatch, place a propane burner underneath.
Have your jig ready before you fire up the "oven". Also you will need some form of "spatula" to take it out and lay it over the jig.
Good luck!
You never said if you have the old hatch?
Not a bad idea, but indirect heat may be safer and easier to do. Build a box out of cinderblocks leaving a hole in one end, rent one of those propane heaters that looks like a jet engine used for heating job sites and stick it in the hole. Insulate as best you can and fire it up...but the cost of the plastic and the potential for disaster make hiring a pro like Selectplastics much more attractive if they are reasonable. If I ever did take the DIY approach I'd try it out empty and with some small samples of acrylic first before going for hatch.
Taking a page from BBQ'ers you could cut an old 275 gallon oil tank in half and cut a hole for the propane heater or even install a bunch of replacement burners for grills in the bottom and you could probably get pretty even heating. Contact a heating company for the oil tank. I am sure you could get a used one for the price of scrap.
Taking a page from BBQ'ers you could cut an old 275 gallon oil tank in half and cut a hole for the propane heater or even install a bunch of replacement burners for grills in the bottom and you could probably get pretty even heating. Contact a heating company for the oil tank. I am sure you could get a used one for the price of scrap.
I agree about hiring a pro. Trying to get a good hatch on your first shot would be tough...
sorry for the slow reply here.....if you still have the broken parts you can pieace them back together to make a patter from the old won.....then transfer the arc profile to some plywood and make enough spars to creat the hatch in full size ....like making an airplane wing frame or spars if you will ....then space them 6 inches on center on top of a good flat surface and join them together with cross pieces.......when you have done that you then take a 1/4 thick or less plywood like luan from home depot or lowes...lay it out on the spars and then start from one side to the other on each spar fastening it down to the spars....when you have completed that then lay your old hatch cover on and see if you need to adjust anything in relation to the fit up...if you do you may only have to fair it in some spots to make a surface for the plastic to nest in when you heat it ....i usually use 400 to 450 heat in the oven but you may want to ck with the plactics co where you bought it and ask what the working temp is for that particular material or you may take a drop of the plastic and put it in the oven and observe when it gets to melting point in other words take a 12 inch piece and suspend it on both ends about 1/2 inch and watch it till it starts to sag ...and it would be a good idea to start a little cooler and work your way up till you achive the results you are looking for and when you have shaped the plastic in the oven let it lay there and turn the oven off and walk away till it is cool enough to touch with your bare hands ...that way you will not disterbe the the shape and will be able to handle it with out loosing the shape......hope this helps .....there is no need to pay me for any thing as i said before if i were closer to you i would help you......good luck and ask me questions you you need to ........
regards
woody
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