cockpit hatches

Jamie · Post by **Jamie** » Jul 11th, '05, 17:51

Hello all,

My cockpit hatches and sliding companionway hatch are so flexible that I am afraid to stand on them because it feels as though they are going to cave in. Does anyone else have this problem? What can be done to reinforce them. Thanks

Jamie

Didereaux · Post by **Didereaux** » Jul 11th, '05, 19:32

I don't what boat you have, but I can speak of the CD-25. The sliding hatch and fore-hatch are so flimsy that they border on criminal negligence. Sometime this winter I am going to rebuild the whole mess.

As far as reinforcing goes, if you come up with a good idea pass it along, I have drawn a blank, which is how I came to my conclusion to rebuild from scratch.

How a company could spend the time effort and materials to build such great hulls and turn right around and top them with trash boggles the mind.

Wayne Brown · Post by **Wayne Brown** » Jul 11th, '05, 20:33

I have had 4 Cape Dorys and have not had any trouble with any of them except the forward hatch on our CD-25 was a little weak. You might check and see if the core has gotten wet which would destroy the stiffness of the hatch. If you need to rebuild, keep the outside part and add a balsa core from the bottom covered over with several layers of fiberglass, make sure to seal it well.

Wayne Brown
'83 CD-27 "Whisper"

Fred P. · Post by **Fred P.** » Jul 11th, '05, 21:17

I do agree about the sliding companionway hatch cover. I don't allow anyone to stand on it, not even when putting on the sail cover. I just don't trust it.

In my idler moments I've entertained the idea of epoxying bent 1" teak strips athwartships across the underside of the hatch. Maybe they would be called beams? Fom what I can tell, they wouldn't interfere with the operation of the hatch. A couple of em would stiffen that cover right up. And varnished, I bet they'd look right natty too!

But that's just my idle speculations. If you come up with a viable solution, be a sport and post it here!

Regards

Dick Villamil · Post by **Dick Villamil** » Jul 11th, '05, 21:49

I have a similar problem on my Typhoon and am contemplating placing a narrow section of EPAY both above and below at the forward edge and one or two in the middle. I replaced the broken teak at the after edge with EPAY and it is really strong. Screw through from the bottom and you won't need bungs or throughbolt and use bungs. I might use the leftover pieces of the rubrail insterad of EpAY but EPAY seems much stronger.

Roy J. · Post by **Roy J.** » Jul 12th, '05, 01:19

I also don't stand or let anyone stand on the companionway slide, but the cockpit hatches have to be sturdy. This year, I found that the screws on all four cockpit locker hatch hinges allowed water in and the balsa core to rot, making them spongy and weak. I followed Don Casey's Fiberglass Hull Repair basic method of drilling and drying then filling with somewhat thickened epoxy. I drilled larger holes where the new hinge screws would be so there would be no chance of drilling into cored material. I also found that adding 3/8" wide self-adhesive auto weatherstripping to the top surface of the locker opening both kept water out of the locker and supported the locker cover. This reduced strain on the hinges, which I think let the water in in the first place. The companionway reinforcement sounds like a good idea, although I am not certain 1" wide strips will provide enough support to be weight bearing.

Roy J. · Post by **Roy J.** » Jul 12th, '05, 01:26

To find the wet core I drilled a couple of holes near the hing screw holes and found black, wet, rotten core material.

I took the covers off, brought them into the house and drilled only on the inside surface of the locker hatches, preserving the non-skid and gelcoat. Inside the house, I allowed 4 weeks of drying time, having drilled about 3 3/16th holes per sq inch, working out from the rotten hinge site, until I didn't hit wet balsa core. Each locker required about 2-3 sq ft of holes to get everything dry.

Dave Brandt · Post by **Dave Brandt** » Jul 12th, '05, 11:36

I agree, the forward hatch and the sliding are very weak. On my forward hatch I cut out the translucent section and built it up to take a Plexi cover. On the inside I added a core of 1/4” plywood and glassed that in place. The sliding hatch is a bit more of a problem because of clearance. I used rigid closed cell foam as a core and glassed that in place. The core tapers at the edges so that it clears the slides. The aft section tapers as well to allow for the interior and exterior teak trim. This really stiffened both hatches up, but I still would avoid standing on them. I posted some photos at the site below.

Dave

PS
There are also some photos of the modifications I made so that an 8 hp Honda will work. I enlarged the back of the motor well and built a custom mount for the motor. It fits great, the hatch closes and all the control cables could be routed to the control unit with out sticking into the cockpit. The final painting happens this week!!!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/debhgxc/a ... /my_photos

Jamie · Post by **Jamie** » Jul 12th, '05, 17:36

Thanks for the responses and ideas. More suggestions are, of course, welcome

Jamie

gsd46 · Post by **gsd46** » Jul 12th, '05, 18:26

When we purchased our CD25 we had a serious hatch problem--there were none! The PO had lost them during transport from Chicago to Cape Coral, they blew off while going down the interstate. I made a new sliding companionway hatch and cover from teak. The cover is removable and is secured with anti-rattlers very similar to those on the cockpit lockers. The sliding hatch required 41 seperate pieces of teak and 92 screws and plugs. (Can't remember how many the cover used) It was quite a job but the results were worth the effort--they don't leak and a person could probably jump on them. Also, I put a bit more arch in them to increase head room slightly. Click on the link below to view them.

http://www.nsabail.com/Hatch.zip[/url]

Tod Mills · Post by **Tod Mills** » Jul 13th, '05, 18:15

Hi, Dave

I hope you don't mind a few questions:

I notice your settee hatches are hinged and have latches. Was that standard, and if not, do you have any closeup shots of the latches?

What kind of paint are you using on the interior, and how did you apply it (brush/roller)?

Did you make the inlay in the sole yourself?

Looking really good!

Dave Brandt · Post by **Dave Brandt** » Jul 13th, '05, 19:03

Hey Tom,

I made the settee latches and re-sized the lids, I don't have any
closeups, but I will take a few and put them on the with the rest of the photos.

The interior paint is a Valspar polyurethane enamel, rolled with foam rollers, I liked the way it went on, easy to work with.

I added another access point to the bilge, so that's what the inlay in the sole is about, it's maple & ebony.

Dave

Dave Brandt · Post by **Dave Brandt** » Jul 13th, '05, 19:05

I meant Todd, sorry..... must be the paint fumes.....

Tod Mills · Post by **Tod Mills** » Jul 13th, '05, 21:06

Looking forward to seeing what you came up with for the latches, Dave. Thanks.

gsd46: I downloaded your pics; that's quite the professional job on that hatch. Did you have a lot of woodworking experience before tackling that project? My Tartan 26 project boat has plexiglass hatches and of course the main one has a big crack running across it (as did each of the other 5 T26's I've seen), so I'll be replacing them.

Thanks,

gsd46 · Post by **gsd46** » Jul 13th, '05, 23:18

Todd-- in response to your question about experience I can tell you that I have never built hatches before. Once the project got going it simply wasn't such a big deal, a lot of careful measuring and cutting, screwing and plugging and caulking. Anyone can do it if they set their mind to it.

The Cape Dory Board

cockpit hatches

cockpit hatches

weak hatches & companionway covers

cockpit hatches

companionway hatch cover

weak cockpit hatches are probably a sign of wet core

drill from inside the locker hatches

Weak Hatches, CD-25

cockpit hatches

my hatch solution

Dave, your boat is looking really good!...questions:

Questions....

Ooops..

Dave & gsd46:

Woodworking experience?