Hatch Replacement

[Kruncher]

Hello,

Owner of a 1998 Catalina 42 mk ii. Recently purchased new hatches (and portlights); looking for some guidance / gotchas on replacing hatches (could apply to any yacht).

I have the older Lewmar Ocean Series Hatches; unfortunately, the acrylic is NOT replaceable in these model.

I assume, I can't use the old screw holes, as they probably won't line up anyway. But if they did, what's the best way to prevent water intrusion? I figure, I'd use enough sealant / adhesive to squirt out a little completely under the hatch.

Ideas on type of sealant / adhesive to use, what to avoid. What to fill in the old screw holes with?

On another website I follow, they have a common theme: "Friends, don't let friends use 5200." Ha!

Big fan of Practical Sailor.

Anyway, sorry if the grammar is off, just firing this off. Wifey is on fire right now ...

Thanks in advance.
Adam

[Calif.Ted]

I've replaced Lewmar mid profile hatches with identical where the crew holes DO line up, some will have been stripped however so I put a little JB Weld or other epoxy in most screw holes. I use butyl tape as a sealant, same as used at factory originally. On my '02 Catalina the edges of the hatch openings had been coated with resin so the core not at risk. Not sure when that practice was started at factory.

[psk125]

We filled the old screw holes with epoxygoop so as not to ever have to worry about leaks from them. The NEW holes get the sealant along with the new mounting bolts.

[Kruncher]

Yoga is over, wifey has calmed down a bit ...ha

Thanks Skippers!

Going down tomorrow, will pull off the first hatch (the shattered one), and star the replacement.

Cheers,
Adam

[Kruncher]

Well, that was a PITA.

Finally pried the old hatch off, and filled the screw holes (which did NOT line up - which is fine, I was going to fill them anyway).

Can’t upload pics from my phone … more later.

Be back at the boat later, light sanding, drilling new holes, epoxying the holes, then using butyl tape to mount.

[Kruncher]

Guess the pic came through. Appears Catalina glasses the sides of the wood. Thinking about drill a tiny hole in the plastic underneath, where the larger gaps are in the fiberglass, to notice any leaking earlier than later.

I trust butyl tape, but never know.

Thoughts?

[Kruncher]

Butyl tape didn't work for the small size 0 hatches over the galley / couch (unless you double up the tape).

I used 1/8" thick tape, but it was not thick enough to fully cover the gaps along the sides of the hatch. My boat deck has a slight curve where these hatches are; the hatch actually wobbles a little side to side before being screwed down, but not fore aft. The high center point is right along the center, fore-aft axis (hope that makes sense?).

You could make the tape work if you put tape on the deck AND underneath the hatch flange. When you flip the hatch over, to install the butyl tape, you'll notice a small gap in the flange lip (this fills with bedding material [tubed silicone] during install). When you attempt to put the tape on the hatch, you'll have to push the tape in this gap a little, to make it stay put during install. Essentially, this hides the tape underneath the hatch edge, leaving an air gap.

It was a bear to get off, it's great stuff, but won't work on the small hatches in the Catalina 42 mk ii.

Should work on the size hatches along the centerline though ... cheers, Adam

[boxxy]

Hi all
I have lewmar flush hatches and tried today to remove the lid of one of these but am stumped. Does anyone have any experience to share? They don't have the same hinge system as the Ocean hatch series, and instead seem to have two pins that look like they should move into a space in the middle and then come out, but I don't see any way to slide them, especially as some have become recessed into their channels. The other option looks to be to remove the hinges that attach to the deck frame itself, but after removing the screws of these they still wouldn't budge.

[coopec43]

Hi Boxxy

I think you would get a better response if you opened up a new thread "Lewmatr Hatch Removal" rather than tag on to a 2023 thread which could cause confusion