Well, the boat finally reappeared from the snow and the ridgepole supporting the winter cover collapsed onto the companionway hatch. The hatch is cracked pretty badly and msy not be worth the repair. Has anyone tried building a replacement? I have an idea for one with lucite or plexiglas on top to let in more light. Any ideas or direction would be appreciated.
O'Day 22 Companionway Hatch
- Thread starter Sea Bear
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A new hatch for your boat would run about $600.00 Installing Lexan would give you more light and would be great on rainy days to sit in the cabin and watch the rain bounce off it, but it could be a big disadvantage in that you couldn't stand on it if you were raising/lowering your mast, and if the lens doesn't sit low enough on the hatch, it could interfere with the clearance needed to step your mast from aft. I would try to reconstruct it. A couple of good books on that subject are; "Sailboat Hull & Deck Repair" and "This Old Boat" by Don Casey. Your library may have these books. My hatch is cracked where it slides in the groove of the two Teak moldings and I suspect that I'll have to do something to it someday soon. Another option is to bring it to a good fiberglass repair man. Good repairmen are hard to find. The best one in my area is a part owner of a local boatyard in Dighton, Ma. I've seen his work and it's excellent in both the reconstruction and Gel-coat color matching. So you may want to go that route. I've found that fiberglass reconstruction is fairly simple, but Gel-coat matching is almost impossibe without the right equipment and know how. Good luck!
- Jan 22, 2008
- 519
If the frame of the hatch is not broken
You may be able to cut out the middle panel and replace with smoked polycarb about 3/8 thick. You still would not want to stand on it, but you could cut your cost down to a fraction of replacement. I added a plex washboard to mine for $80. Don casey's book This Old Boat shows the detail of this repair, but essentially you cut out the middle and replace. If the fore and aft edges are cracked, your hatch may be too far gone for this refit.
You may be able to cut out the middle panel and replace with smoked polycarb about 3/8 thick. You still would not want to stand on it, but you could cut your cost down to a fraction of replacement. I added a plex washboard to mine for $80. Don casey's book This Old Boat shows the detail of this repair, but essentially you cut out the middle and replace. If the fore and aft edges are cracked, your hatch may be too far gone for this refit.
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