Hatch Recommendation
- Thread starter LOTM
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Just priced one the other day
Mine is watertight, but the latches have bought the farm. After checking around, none are cheap, but it looks like the best deal may be through Rudy at DRMarine.com. If you find another place that's cheaper, please let me know. I'm just planning on doing a temporary repair for now until I'm ready to drop several hundred into the hatch.
Mine is watertight, but the latches have bought the farm. After checking around, none are cheap, but it looks like the best deal may be through Rudy at DRMarine.com. If you find another place that's cheaper, please let me know. I'm just planning on doing a temporary repair for now until I'm ready to drop several hundred into the hatch.
222 forward hatches
Unfortunately, the hatches that they put on the 222s weren't too good. They're made of cheap plastic and the knob can break and the adjuster bolts freeze up. I tried a new Bomar Hatch on my boat that I bought at Defender, and it was just about a shade too small for the opening. So I brought it back to Defender and got a refund. Thank God I didn't trash my old hatch. I wound up putting it back on and later I was able to literally take my hatch cover all apart and free up the adjusters. If your hatch isn't too far gone, you can remove the two adjusters with an Allen wrench, and remove the pins from the hatch hinges. The plastic knobs can be removed from threaded metal inserts on each adjuster bolt. The top piece of the adjusters are attached to the hatch with pins that can be removed with a hammer and a drift pin. What you're left with is the two adjuster bolts and the frozen threaded inserts which fit inside the plastic knobs. I used my dremel tool with a small wire brush attachment to clean up the bolts, plus some WD-40. After a while I was able to get them to work. Years ago, I cracked the lens on this hatch and I went to a place called Falco, in Whitman Ma. The guy cut me a piece of Lexan to fit in the cover and I used silicon to adhere it in place. I've since removed the lens and used 3-M Polysulfide adhesive sealant. If the hatch isn't too far gone like mine, you can fix it. A friend of mine who has a cabinet shop, bought a new hatch for his Pearson Ariel that he was reconditioning, and the hatch didn't fit too well in the opening. So what he did was to build a frame out of white oak to mount under the hatch. It came out super. So that's another avenue of approach. Anyway, my hatch is still in use and if it ever gets inoperable, I guess I'll have to be looking for a new one too. Joe
Unfortunately, the hatches that they put on the 222s weren't too good. They're made of cheap plastic and the knob can break and the adjuster bolts freeze up. I tried a new Bomar Hatch on my boat that I bought at Defender, and it was just about a shade too small for the opening. So I brought it back to Defender and got a refund. Thank God I didn't trash my old hatch. I wound up putting it back on and later I was able to literally take my hatch cover all apart and free up the adjusters. If your hatch isn't too far gone, you can remove the two adjusters with an Allen wrench, and remove the pins from the hatch hinges. The plastic knobs can be removed from threaded metal inserts on each adjuster bolt. The top piece of the adjusters are attached to the hatch with pins that can be removed with a hammer and a drift pin. What you're left with is the two adjuster bolts and the frozen threaded inserts which fit inside the plastic knobs. I used my dremel tool with a small wire brush attachment to clean up the bolts, plus some WD-40. After a while I was able to get them to work. Years ago, I cracked the lens on this hatch and I went to a place called Falco, in Whitman Ma. The guy cut me a piece of Lexan to fit in the cover and I used silicon to adhere it in place. I've since removed the lens and used 3-M Polysulfide adhesive sealant. If the hatch isn't too far gone like mine, you can fix it. A friend of mine who has a cabinet shop, bought a new hatch for his Pearson Ariel that he was reconditioning, and the hatch didn't fit too well in the opening. So what he did was to build a frame out of white oak to mount under the hatch. It came out super. So that's another avenue of approach. Anyway, my hatch is still in use and if it ever gets inoperable, I guess I'll have to be looking for a new one too. Joe
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