Hunter 23 Sliding Hatch Question

[MrUnix]

First off, I'd like to say hello to everyone and introduce myself as this is my first post here. The wife and I just purchased a 1985 Hunter 23 w/swing-wing keel that is in great shape, but had sat idle for quite some time and needs a bit of TLC to get her back into shape. For a couple of different reasons, we actually downsized from our previous Hunter 27, but it was mostly so we could trailer the boat to where we wanted to sail instead of driving to the boat to sail. Being in North Central Florida, we have our choice of either coast, but will likely spend most of our time on the east coast around the St. Augustine area.

Like I said, the H23 had been sitting idle for a while, so I'm slowly going through everything that needs to be looked at and fixing/replacing as I go along. Hope to have her ready to sail soon, as summer is fast approaching, and I would like to get her back to as close to original condition as possible. I'm sure that having access to this forum and other H23 owners will be a great resource in achieving that goal!

One problem I have is the companionway hatch/door. As I understand it, the forward part of the hatch (fiberglass section) is hinged, and there is a (lexan?) slider behind that slides under the forward portion. The previous owner took the slider portion (which he says was broken anyway) and cut it into an appropriate "V" shape to use as the companionway door that was missing, and then fashioned a plywood 'slider' to replace the original. Needless to say, it's less than optimal and I would like to get it back to original.

That said, can anyone provide a picture and perhaps diminsions of the various parts of the hatch and maybe explain how it operates? I'd like to fabricate a duplicate of the sliding portion, and I believe I have the original teak that was on it. Also, when the slider is pushed forward, does it somehow secure itself to the fixed/hinged part so it lifts up along with it? It doesn't make sense if you could hinge the fiberglass part up but the slider stays in place.. or maybe you are just supposed to remove it completely and stow it like you would the door portion? And along those lines, how are you supposed to keep the hinged portion up? Tie it off somehow to the mast, or perhaps it had an adjustable lift at one time? Having never seen what the original configuration looks like, I'm sort of at a loss..

Thanks for any input!

Cheers,
Brad

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Brad,
Welcome to the forums.

I don't have any photos and my hatch would be larger then yours, but I can give you a description of how they work.

The fiberglass hatch has wooden slats attached to the underside that have a grove to support the Lexan hatch.

When you push the Lexan hatch forward enough, all the way into the fiberglass hatch, it clears the cabin upper hatch retaining grove. This allows the fiberglass hatch, with Lexan hatch contained, to hinge up.

The wood bars on the fore and aft ends of the Lexan hatch control the forward and aft stop points.

The aft bar attaches to the top of the Lexan hatch. It has 5 screw holes in the Lexan hatch that are countersunk on the bottom side of the Lexan to allow the wood screw heads to be flush. The lock hasp also attaches to the aft facing side of this bar.

The forward bar is mostly used as an inside handle to move the hatch. It mounts on the underside of the Lexan hatch. The actual stop is a convex bar that is mounted on the upper side of the Lexan hatch. The 5 wood screws go up through the lower bar, through the pre-drilled holes in the Lexan hatch, and then into the convex stop.

Its these two forward bars that must be removed to allow the Lexan hatch to slide out of all the groves for maintenance.

I hope that helps.

 

[peptobysmol]

Hey Brad,
Welcome to the forum. I have a 1985 23 swing/wing keel as well. Mine is is great shape and is close by. The bad news is I work until Saturday. I'll be able to run by and take some pics of my hatch for you. I got my boat last july. All lines are run to the cockpit. If you need any other pics just let me know. The boat is in the water so I won't be able to take any pics below the water line . She's a fine boat and you'll have fun sailing her!

Cheers!
P.S. My name is Brad as well

 

[ChrisM]

Hello Brad

I bought an 85 H23 wing keel last fall and am in the process of restoring it. I have it in my shop and will be going over to work on my current project, refinishing the mast, later today. I can snap some pictures. Anything else you might need a picture of?

Chris

 

[ChrisM]

Brad,

stopped by the boat this afternoon, here is what I can tell you:

The hatch slips into a channel in the fiberglass portion of the hatch and is then lifted with the fiberglass hatch.

The dimensions of the Lexan hatch are 33-1/2" wide, 28-5/8" deep, and 1/2" thick.

The lexan portion of the hatch has (3) strips of teak attached to it with screws and adhesive, two in the front to function as handles and one in the back that acts as a stopper to keep the hatch from sliding out of the fiberglass portion. The dimensions of the teak parts are as follows:

Front top handle: 27" long x 7/8" wide x 1-1/4" thick

Front bottom handle: 27" long x 1" wide x 1-1/2" thick

Back Stopper: 27" long x 1" wide x 3/8" thick

The thickness of the front handles is not critical, while the back stopper would cause interference if it was any thicker.

I have pictures I can send as well.

Regards,

Chris

 

[MrUnix]

Thanks a ton! The description and measurements help a bunch. I actually had thought (based on what limited pictures I have been able to find) that the rear (aft) portion had the two pieces of wood on it. A good picture would be worth a thousand words Chris, so if you don't mind posting one, it sure would help. Now I guess I just have to find a good source for the 1/2 material to use.. Lexan seems to be way expensive, but I have read that cast acrylic is acceptable and perhaps less scratch resistant. I'll probably keep the companionway door that is there now (made out of the old piece of lexan that used to be the slider), but what was used from the factory? Was it a single piece wood or lexan door panel or was it slatted into several pieces? It's funny how when looking for pictures, all seem to have the companionway open and rarely do you see one all buttoned up!

Cheers,
Brad

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Hatch panels

Brad,
Mine is four separate wedges, alternating Lexan and wood. That makes for easy storage.

http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/components/com_mtree/img/listings/m/7535.jpg

I know that for the H260 each and every section has been carefully measured and described in previous forum topics. You might search here and in the Boat Info section.