Help with leaking hatch please

[Steve L22188]

After 30 years, the overhead hatch on my O'Day 302 has started leaking. A heavy rain...or a deck washdown with powerwasher - I get a small puddle on the sole under one side of the hatch.
I don't think it's the seal of the hatch - I think it's leaking along the seam of the hatch where it's fastened to the deck.
I tightened down the screws (they turned very little) - but it still leaks.

My first inclination is to get some sealant (non silicone) and put bead on where the hatch meets the deck. What's the best sealant for such an activity?

My real concern is that the hatch needs to be removed and rebedded. How big a job/mess will that likely be? (Hope it's not on there with 5200!) Anyone on here have experience with how O'Day bedded those hatches at the factory? Can I use Maine Sail's butyl tape to rebed that hatch or is there a better material to rebed the hatch?

Thanks, as always, in advance for the wise counsel of those on this board...this remains an amazing group of helpful people.

 

[Close Call]

I replaced the hatch on my 1966 Pearson just the other day. Not the original equipment but had been in there a while. Removing it was not as hard as I thought it would be.
From below I hit it hard with a hammer and block of wood. Then I was able to get a utility knife blade under the hatch rim and gradually cut the bedding material. With a little prying with screwdrivers the hatch lifted out undamaged.

In my case, the leak was where the sense was sealed in the frame. I got a great deal on a brand new Bomar low profile from Great Lakes Skipper. It was less than Hatchmaster's quote for a repair.

I used butyl tape to bed the new hatch.

 

[dlochner]

An oscillating tool with a flexible scraper blade will separate the hatch from the bedding compound.

Careful prying and gentle persuasion should finish the job.

 

[jviss]

or a deck washdown with powerwasher

Not a good idea! You can cause damage with a pressure washer.

What's the best sealant for such an activity?

Butyl rubber tape.

The hatch can probably be removed easily enough if you can buy or make some thin, hardwood wedges, and tap them in along one edge - slowly - until the seal starts to break.

 

[MitchM]

we rebedded the foredeck hatch on an old seafarer 30. the hatch was held onto the foredeck with multiple threaded bolts. some of the bolts were different lengths than other bolts. fortunately we labeled them as we took them out so they'd go back into the same holes from whence they came. cleaning off the old bedding compound was messy but not difficult with a Fein tool. (we had previously figured out what the gasket size was and had ordered new gasket material before removing the hatch .) It took most of a week-end .