Replace O'Day 31 Companionway Hatch

[OdayGeorge]

I had my 31 on the hard for 6 years. Long story, I was staying afloat during the recession.

To the point, the hatch delaminated and needs to be either be repaired or replaced.

First, has anyone ever removed the hatch? It appears I either have to remove one teak side rail or cut the forward lip off the hatch to have it slide aft and off.

To remove a rail, does anyone know if the rail is screwed down or bolted down. If bolted, the nuts are inside the liner, right?

If I cut the forward section off, I have someone who will fiberglass a piece in the front and try to make it look good - I hope - when it's time to reassemble.

Third choice it to ask if anyone knows where I might get a replacement hatch?

Finally, has anyone ever gotten creative and had a new custom hatch installed?

Thanks a lot.

 

[jibes138]

I had my 31 on the hard for 6 years. Long story, I was staying afloat during the recession. To the point, the hatch delaminated and needs to be either be repaired or replaced. First, has anyone ever removed the hatch? It appears I either have to remove one teak side rail or cut the forward lip off the hatch to have it slide aft and off. To remove a rail, does anyone know if the rail is screwed down or bolted down. If bolted, the nuts are inside the liner, right? If I cut the forward section off, I have someone who will fiberglass a piece in the front and try to make it look good - I hope - when it's time to reassemble. Third choice it to ask if anyone knows where I might get a replacement hatch? Finally, has anyone ever gotten creative and had a new custom hatch installed? Thanks a lot.

for clarity are you talking about the slider on top of your companionway? Do you have a picture?

 

[cbourne200]

If slider over companionway, may be easier to remove one of the teak pieces holding cover down (about 5' long on my '87 272 - has 5 screws I think), and remove that way... Just maybe an idea...

 

[OdayGeorge]

Yes, the slider. I'll get a picture for the thread.

 

[OdayGeorge]

Yes, I think I'll have to remove the teak rail on the side. I can't picture this ending well. Nevertheless, I can't fathom repairing the hatch over my head either.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[jibes138]

Yes, I think I'll have to remove the teak rail on the side. I can't picture this ending well. Nevertheless, I can't fathom repairing the hatch over my head either. Thanks for your feedback.

just dig out the plugs overs the screws with a sharp object. And remove the screws. How did the hatch delaminate? Isn't it solid fiberglass? I'm thinking you can drill some holes dry it out if wet, inject some epoxy and clamp it as a repair. Otherwise any good fiberglass guy can fix it for you.

 

[njlarry]

just dig out the plugs overs the screws with a sharp object. And remove the screws. How did the hatch delaminate? Isn't it solid fiberglass? I'm thinking you can drill some holes dry it out if wet, inject some epoxy and clamp it as a repair. Otherwise any good fiberglass guy can fix it for you.

Agree....my hatch appears to be solid glass, nothing to delaminate. If it did i might do as jibes wrote.

 

[OdayGeorge]

Mine has a balsa core. From inside, you can see the solid fiberglass at the edge of the hatch that run into the teak tracks, then it bulges in the middle square where the core is. The previous owner had a dodger installed. They attached the snaps and buckles using screws that went clear through the hatch by 1/16 of an inch and he caulked the interior so you wouldn't scratch you hands. I never gave it much thought to replace the screws since the damage was already done. Over the storage period, the rain and snow penetrated. (As a matter of fact, water dripped into the boat and I'm also replacing 1/3 of the delaminated teak flooring.) The boat was covered over the years, but a couple of ice storms and Nor' Easter's ripped the cover off and there were periods where the top was exposed to the elements. To the point, the hatch has flattened by the ice and snow or as the core rotted. I put a drill bit into the holes and I pulled out some of the rotten core. Practical Sailor wrote back in the late 1980's that the hatch was flimsy, avoid stepping on it, and that owners reported a lot of gel coat cracking. Mine lost it's arch and is flattened.

On the positive side, after working in St Louis for a number of years and retiring, I went back to NY, had the boat shipped to Charleston SC where we live now. The engine started right up, the gel coat is waxed and looks great, and there was no mold, gel coat cracking or any other damage to the boat. I just needed to re-silicone the Plexiglas in the front hatch as it had a minor leak.

So last question, have you heard a place to purchase a hatch? When mine is repaired, it will still look pretty rough.

Thanks for confirming the teak is held in with screws.

 

[jibes138]

Mine has a balsa core. From inside, you can see the solid fiberglass at the edge of the hatch that run into the teak tracks, then it bulges in the middle square where the core is. The previous owner had a dodger installed. They attached the snaps and buckles using screws that went clear through the hatch by 1/16 of an inch and he caulked the interior so you wouldn't scratch you hands. I never gave it much thought to replace the screws since the damage was already done. Over the storage period, the rain and snow penetrated. (As a matter of fact, water dripped into the boat and I'm also replacing 1/3 of the delaminated teak flooring.) The boat was covered over the years, but a couple of ice storms and Nor' Easter's ripped the cover off and there were periods where the top was exposed to the elements. To the point, the hatch has flattened by the ice and snow or as the core rotted. I put a drill bit into the holes and I pulled out some of the rotten core. Practical Sailor wrote back in the late 1980's that the hatch was flimsy, avoid stepping on it, and that owners reported a lot of gel coat cracking. Mine lost it's arch and is flattened. On the positive side, after working in St Louis for a number of years and retiring, I went back to NY, had the boat shipped to Charleston SC where we live now. The engine started right up, the gel coat is waxed and looks great, and there was no mold, gel coat cracking or any other damage to the boat. I just needed to re-silicone the Plexiglas in the front hatch as it had a minor leak. So last question, have you heard a place to purchase a hatch? When mine is repaired, it will still look pretty rough. Thanks for confirming the teak is held in with screws.

you'd have to find a boat being parted out to get a new used hatch. You could make a female mold from your hatch and lay up a new one or fix the old one. A good fiberglass guy will make it look excellent. Just cut off the top skin, remove the rotted core, put in new core and lay up new glass. I just saw a guy fix a caliber 40 deck around the chain plates and you'd never know it if it wasn't pointed out. A hatch is easy because you can do it indoors in good temp and humidity. Not a lot of materials involved either. 25 years later did his whole side deck and made it look like new.

 

[OdayGeorge]

Thanks, Dave. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[ddooher]

How did you make out on the hatch cover and runners. I just saw your post as I had just put up a post asking for advice on replacing teak on an O'day 25. All the teak was shot, so replaced it all. My plan for runners is to put new screws, teak bungs on port runner, slide hatch cover in, and then slip hatch into starboard runner and screw that down with teak bungs. If there is an easier way, I am open to all ideas. Thanks. Dan

 

[berner73]

It appears I either have to remove one teak side rail or cut the forward lip off the hatch to have it slide aft and off.

Can't tell from the angles of the photo's you posted, but perhaps you don't need to remove an entire side rail. If you look at your hatch slide as you face the companionway, could you remove just the first couple of screws from each side of the rails to give yourself enough clearance to pull the hatch up and over the molded stopper, and then slide it out?

Hard to describe, so here's a picture of our companionway to try and explain (not sure how similar yours is). I could slide the hatch out by unscrewing the first two screws on each side and gently lifting up the teak rails at the yellow circles. This creates a gap where the lexan hatch can be raised, slid aft and then pulled out of it's track.

If you are to remove it, might be a nice time to try and add a lexan window to brighten things up down below when it's closed.

Good luck.

 

[OdayGeorge]

It worked out surprisingly well. I thought I'd have a lot of trouble removing the teak runner from one side as it's been there for 30 years. i was it would split But after drilling a hole slightly smaller than the plugs, and picking the balance of the plug out, the screws came out rather easily. Also, O'day didn't caulk the entire runner, so I had enough leverage to pry it off the boat. the repair went well. No problems. Now that it's done and re-installed, you can't tell from the teak it was removed and the slide is stronger than new. I used 1/4 inch marine ply to fill it and epoxy the rest. I have to say that the fear of the unknown was worse than the repair itself. Blogs like this are terrific. Thanks to all.

 

[Sunbird22358]

D&R Marine in Assonet, MA sells replacement hatches. Rudy Nickerson (the "R" in D&R) used to be the Parts Dept. Manager for O'DAY from 1973-89 and soon after O'DAY went bankrupt he purchased a lot of the molds and tooling for the parts (and a few complete boat molds). He has a web site, but you may need to call him for best service. He may even know the best way to repair the original hatch, if fact.... I'm almost sure he would know!
www.drmarine.com
14 Water St.
Assonet, MA
Phone: (508) 644-3001
Fax: (508) 644-3002