Forward Deck Hatch

[Kelly13387]

I work at a Boy Scout Resevation in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks, and we have a 1977 27' Hunter. We mainly use it for sailing merit badge, but we have been branching out with more high adventure, with sailing outposts on the lake. Just a few days ago we were hit by a bad storm and lost what was left of our broken front hatch in the lake. I was looking at a replacement hatch, but I'm afraid it is a little to expensive for our sailing budget, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of a good way we could replace the hatch. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thank you for your time.Kelly StevensBoating DirectorHohn Scout ReservationGreat Rivers Council, BSA

 

[David11054]

Alternatives

The new replacement is from Pompanette.com, and will cost around $500. Installing is a do it yourself exercise very well explained at the h27 boat model page.If that is too much for your budget, I have seen a story in a magazine describing a replacement built of an inner wood frame mounted in the opening and protruding above the deck. An outer frame with a plexiglass or lexan window fit over it. I forget how it was fastened down, but dogging hardware should be easy to come by. A design that is both strong and watertight should not be hard to come by.DavidLady Lillie