The grooves in the companionway hatch and the slides themselves are worn on my boat so that the hatch now contacts the coach roof in sliding, marring the surface. The slides are fiberglass? plastic? and are 1 3/4" x 1/4" stock. Anybody know a source for this material? Anybody else have this particular problem? Terry Arnold tgarnold1@msn.com
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Sam Lust
Hatch
I don't know if our hatches are the same, as the years of manufacture are different, and I believe you have the earlier, sloped deck. My hatch is a curved piece of smoked "Plexiglass", which slides on flat, gray plastic runners. I have no real idea what the material is; I would think high density polyethylene, except that a piece of one of mine has cracked off and HDPE is normally not that brittle. At any rate, I think your best bet is to find a local supplier for plastics in the yellow pages. You should be able to come up with a piece of scrap 1/4" or 5/16" material you can fashion into slides. Many of the HDPE materials were developed to be used as conveyor belt supports, so they're just what the doctor ordered. Most of the materials work more or less like wood, except that the cutting chips don't rot away. I use lots of plastic in place of wood for just that reason.
I don't know if our hatches are the same, as the years of manufacture are different, and I believe you have the earlier, sloped deck. My hatch is a curved piece of smoked "Plexiglass", which slides on flat, gray plastic runners. I have no real idea what the material is; I would think high density polyethylene, except that a piece of one of mine has cracked off and HDPE is normally not that brittle. At any rate, I think your best bet is to find a local supplier for plastics in the yellow pages. You should be able to come up with a piece of scrap 1/4" or 5/16" material you can fashion into slides. Many of the HDPE materials were developed to be used as conveyor belt supports, so they're just what the doctor ordered. Most of the materials work more or less like wood, except that the cutting chips don't rot away. I use lots of plastic in place of wood for just that reason.
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Rob
Nylon replacement
Lots of trailers for boats use same material to guide boats onto trailers,just a thought,plus local plastic dealer or a bid hardware store maybe could tell ya to to go
Lots of trailers for boats use same material to guide boats onto trailers,just a thought,plus local plastic dealer or a bid hardware store maybe could tell ya to to go
The mystery material.
The 1 3/4" x 1/4" stock that Terry asks about sounds like UHMW. UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight) plastic is a Teflon-like material ideal for hatch slides which we found out about at Cherubini Boat (which may have been how Hunter came into it). From about 1979 on the Cherubini 44 there was a beautiful teak sliding hatch gliding on UHMW tracks (yes, about $200 worth). We liked to demonstrate it by standing a 200-lb ex-Marine (Lee) on the hatch and having one of the office girls slide it back and forth, with him on it, as though it were a ball-bearing file-cabinet drawer. Wonderful stuff. I am VERY surprised to hear that Terry's hatch slides have worn. If it is UHMW, this is rare. The ultra-high molecular weight implies that it is so dense it resists friction and the associated wear. You don't wax it– the wax is gummier. In any case I would not replace it with anything other than UHMW. Be careful when countersinking mounting screws to install it, however– leave plenty of material round each hole and be sure the screwheads are a little BELOW the finished surface of the plastic (a little more than you think it should be for anything else). Phone a plastics supplier and enquire about it. You may have to wait for it and it will not be cheap. And then if you find it, let the rest of us know where!!! JC
The 1 3/4" x 1/4" stock that Terry asks about sounds like UHMW. UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight) plastic is a Teflon-like material ideal for hatch slides which we found out about at Cherubini Boat (which may have been how Hunter came into it). From about 1979 on the Cherubini 44 there was a beautiful teak sliding hatch gliding on UHMW tracks (yes, about $200 worth). We liked to demonstrate it by standing a 200-lb ex-Marine (Lee) on the hatch and having one of the office girls slide it back and forth, with him on it, as though it were a ball-bearing file-cabinet drawer. Wonderful stuff. I am VERY surprised to hear that Terry's hatch slides have worn. If it is UHMW, this is rare. The ultra-high molecular weight implies that it is so dense it resists friction and the associated wear. You don't wax it– the wax is gummier. In any case I would not replace it with anything other than UHMW. Be careful when countersinking mounting screws to install it, however– leave plenty of material round each hole and be sure the screwheads are a little BELOW the finished surface of the plastic (a little more than you think it should be for anything else). Phone a plastics supplier and enquire about it. You may have to wait for it and it will not be cheap. And then if you find it, let the rest of us know where!!! JC
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Nate Shawl
Plastic slide material
I replaced my hatch slides with UHMW from AIN plastics. It cost $8.32 including cutting and shipping. One of the best deals on boat repair parts I ever got. They even sent me an excellent free catalog with all kinds of information on plastics, including prices. They have several branches all over the country.Mine came from Southfield MI, 800-521-1757.The main service center is 800-431-2451.The Florida number is 800-282-2710.
I replaced my hatch slides with UHMW from AIN plastics. It cost $8.32 including cutting and shipping. One of the best deals on boat repair parts I ever got. They even sent me an excellent free catalog with all kinds of information on plastics, including prices. They have several branches all over the country.Mine came from Southfield MI, 800-521-1757.The main service center is 800-431-2451.The Florida number is 800-282-2710.
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Nate Shawl
Plastic slide material
I replaced my hatch slides with UHMW from AIN plastics. It cost $8.32 including cutting and shipping. One of the best deals on boat repair parts I ever got. They even sent me an excellent free catalog with all kinds of information on plastics, including prices. They have several branches all over the country.Mine came from Southfield MI, 800-521-1757.The main service center is 800-431-2451.The Florida number is 800-282-2710.
I replaced my hatch slides with UHMW from AIN plastics. It cost $8.32 including cutting and shipping. One of the best deals on boat repair parts I ever got. They even sent me an excellent free catalog with all kinds of information on plastics, including prices. They have several branches all over the country.Mine came from Southfield MI, 800-521-1757.The main service center is 800-431-2451.The Florida number is 800-282-2710.
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Ken Palmer
AIN Plastics Web address
Good lead! I looked up AIN Plastics Web site at http://www.tincna.com/ain1.htm. Give them a look-see. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
Good lead! I looked up AIN Plastics Web site at http://www.tincna.com/ain1.htm. Give them a look-see. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
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Ken Palmer
AIN Plastics Web address
Good lead! I looked up AIN Plastics Web site at http://www.tincna.com/ain1.htm. Give them a look-see. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
Good lead! I looked up AIN Plastics Web site at http://www.tincna.com/ain1.htm. Give them a look-see. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
What a deal!!!!
Wow, Nate really got a good deal on that stuff!!! $8.32 for UHMW????? Was it really quarter-inch stock? I could look it up but I know prices were MUCH higher when I was the buyer at CBC! (seriously, probably like $35-50 per slide. One raw length about 6 or 8 ft might've been $100.) I guess Hunter's volume was good for something after all. JC
Wow, Nate really got a good deal on that stuff!!! $8.32 for UHMW????? Was it really quarter-inch stock? I could look it up but I know prices were MUCH higher when I was the buyer at CBC! (seriously, probably like $35-50 per slide. One raw length about 6 or 8 ft might've been $100.) I guess Hunter's volume was good for something after all. JC
What a deal!!!!
Wow, Nate really got a good deal on that stuff!!! $8.32 for UHMW????? Was it really quarter-inch stock? I could look it up but I know prices were MUCH higher when I was the buyer at CBC! (seriously, probably like $35-50 per slide. One raw length about 6 or 8 ft might've been $100.) I guess Hunter's volume was good for something after all. JC
Wow, Nate really got a good deal on that stuff!!! $8.32 for UHMW????? Was it really quarter-inch stock? I could look it up but I know prices were MUCH higher when I was the buyer at CBC! (seriously, probably like $35-50 per slide. One raw length about 6 or 8 ft might've been $100.) I guess Hunter's volume was good for something after all. JC
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Nate Shawl
Yes it was !/4" stock
The catalog I have (which is now a couple of years old) lists 1/4" sheet at $121.15 for a 48"x96" sheet. A 1/4"x2" bar is $1.09 per foot. They also have many other sizes and shapes available at similar prices.
The catalog I have (which is now a couple of years old) lists 1/4" sheet at $121.15 for a 48"x96" sheet. A 1/4"x2" bar is $1.09 per foot. They also have many other sizes and shapes available at similar prices.
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Nate Shawl
Yes it was !/4" stock
The catalog I have (which is now a couple of years old) lists 1/4" sheet at $121.15 for a 48"x96" sheet. A 1/4"x2" bar is $1.09 per foot. They also have many other sizes and shapes available at similar prices.
The catalog I have (which is now a couple of years old) lists 1/4" sheet at $121.15 for a 48"x96" sheet. A 1/4"x2" bar is $1.09 per foot. They also have many other sizes and shapes available at similar prices.
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