How to make companion way hatch easier to open?

[patrickkidd]

The fiberglass companion way hatch on my catalina 30 is heavy and really hard to open and close, especially from the inside. Does anyone have any tips for this? Lube? Teflon strips? Aftermarket hatch?

I also have a two-part hinged door that a previous owner fabricated. The heavy hatch gets hung up on the overhang for this door when closing. Maybe not fixable but I thought I'd mention it....

Thank you!

 

[centerline]

Dry teflon lube or sail slug lube is about the best lube for the slider...

What i did for my boat was add teflon wear pads... over the years the wood rails have worn enough that i made full length wear pads that fit inside the groove in the wood rail... 1 strip in each side.
once these fit nicely, i removed them and cut a groove down the center of each one... the profile looked like a very skinny "u" shape on its side.
Then I opened the slider all the way and inserted the pieces, one side at a time back into the wood rail, then slid the slider lip into the groove of the teflon strip, and pulled the slider closed.
I used one short screw in it, thru the teflon and just barely thru the fiberglass hatch lip, to lock it in place...
Then I did the other side the same way....
It tightened up the slider in the grooves and now it slides with ease and without any more wear to either the hatch or the wood...
and best of all, it slides silently without a rumble, a grind or a squeal... and lifted it slightly so it doesnt hang on the hatch boards when they are in place.

The only complications were, after installing them, i had to take a viberatory cutoff tool and reach in and widen the grooves slightly, because the wood had worn downward more that it did sideways, so it was a bit tight.

I think the same idea applied to shorter pieces installed in the same manner to the corners would be an easier project, as i think the fitting and installing would be simpler.

 

[Jongleur]

I did the same thing with this:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...field-keywords=uhmw+tape&rh=i:aps,k:uhmw+tape
by putting it onto a solid PVC
strip that I cut from a PVC angle piece
from Home Depot. I then shoved it as
far back as I could, with a small screw at
the end to hold it in place. It brought up the
sliding hatch about 1/8th inch. It works
well, though better in Summer than in
Winter. I also spray occasionally with
McLube. Whole thing works better,
but not best. Let me know if you come
up with something better.

 

[centerline]

I did the same thing with this:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=uhmw+tape&rh=i:aps,k:uhmw+tape
by putting it onto a solid PVC
strip that I cut from a PVC angle piece
from Home Depot. I then shoved it as
far back as I could, with a small screw at
the end to hold it in place. It brought up the
sliding hatch about 1/8th inch. It works
well, though better in Summer than in
Winter. I also spray occasionally with
McLube. Whole thing works better,
but not best. Let me know if you come
up with something better.

getting it adjusted/trimmed to fit right is the solution to your problem... it sounds like you didnt quite get there.

The only better solution is to replace the entire rails with plastic... and pvc is far from the best material to use as it has a higher friction coefficient and in turn, higher wear.... use nylon, teflon, uhmw, or what is even better is teflon inpregnated delrin.... its slick and is indestructable without tools, effort, and determination..

 

[Jongleur]

"...nylon, teflon, uhmw, or what is even better is teflon inpregnated delrin..."

My link was to UHMW tape that I then put onto the
PVC, so the hatch rides on the UHMW. Where would one get
nylon, teflon or teflon impregnated delrin in 6 or 8
foot strips, 1.5" wide? I agree, that would be better.

 

[kimelmore]

I rinse mine out with water under pressure occasionally and have had few problems but that being said. If I didn't get hung up on other projects for the Admiral I would probably do something after removing the wood rails first. I like all of the ideas I have seen here. Great work.

 

[Kingjim91]

I also have had good success shooting a stream of water down the tracks when the hatch gets hard to slide. A lot of crud usually comes out the end and sides.
If that doesn't help, then I think you'll have to remove rails and hatch to see what you've got going on there.

 

[Sanfelice]

Catalina Direct has this.

http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm/product/1312_53/sliding-hatch-teflon-tape.cfm

 

[centerline]

"...nylon, teflon, uhmw, or what is even better is teflon inpregnated delrin..."
Where would one get
nylon, teflon or teflon impregnated delrin in 6 or 8
foot strips, 1.5" wide? I agree, that would be better.

Port plastics.... you can find them in a lot of major cities. seattle has one.... they are a large wholesale plastics outlet, all types, shapes and sizes.
the type of plastics we know by their trade names as as starboard, plexiglass, delrin, lexan, ect... is sold under the generic product names, so the cost is much less than buying the trade named plastics... and they will sell to the public at about 1/3 the cost of tap plastics, but good high tech plastic is still an expensive commodity...

 

[patrickkidd]

So I have the tape now but I'm curious, how hard is it to remove the sliding hatch? It looks like I have to remove the wood trim to get the hatch cover's cover unbolted from the mid-deck. The score holes have plugs in them that are all varnished over , as you can imagine. Or is there an easier way?

 

[The Garbone]

I put a handle on the inside of the hatch. Can never have too many hand holds. It make sliding it easier and we can hang stuff on it. It was a pain to get a grip on the hatch when buttoned up in the rain.

 

[wufibugs]

I'm sold. My hatch is squealy, sloppy and leaky. After the haul-out is completed, replacing the rails with Dielux seems like the permanent solution. Also want to add a hinged clear plastic sheet to the hatch cover so I can set the current chart in there. Nice for everyone in the cockpit to be able to check the chart.