Painting Bomar Hatches

[Craig Soucy]

I am considering painting my Bomar Hatches, as the paint is starting to lift around the mounting screws.

Has anyone painted their hatches? If so, what paint was used, how did it hold up? (Or any experience with painting aluminum , masts etc that may be relavent)

Also, is the hatch bedded with a sealant or adhesive? Removal tips?

Thanks/CAS



soucyc@csi.com

[Walt Bilofsky]

Also, is the hatch bedded with a sealant or adhesive? Removal tips?

I had no trouble removing and rebedding the Bomar hatch on the foredeck of my 1991 CD 30 powerboat. It was bedded with sealant. Just went around the edge prying gently with screwdrivers and cutting with a sharp knife. Masking tape down first, of course, to try to fend off gelcoat damage.

Key tip on rebedding hatches and windows: space the frame away from the body of the boat about 3/32" (I tape quarters to the boat so the frame just overlaps them a tiny bit), install with sealant and let cure. Then remove spacers, fill any gaps with sealant, and gently tighten down to create a positive gasket. Always use sealant, not adhesive (unless you want revenge on the owner of the boat the next time this needs to be done - remember, it could be you.)

The front saloon windows on my boat had a very thin layer of sealant and can leak in a stiff chop. I've rebedded the port window and really have to get to the center one one some day.



bilofsky@toolworks.com

[D. Stump ,Honalei]

Craig, If I were going to do it, I would remove the hatches entirely from the boat, completely disassemble them (remove all plexiglass and seals) and take them to a sandblaster to have all the old finish removed. Sandy, the "Master Blaster" in Colchester has done some sandblasting for me and is very reasonable. Once the old finish is removed the problem is what finish to apply? I would call Bomar and ask them how they finished the frames originally. I don't know if the original finish was baked on or not. Other than the above, maybe a good prime with RustOleum and a finish by the same would work. It sounds like a time consuming, but do-able job, good luck!

Honalei passed her sea trials last Saturday, 7.1 knots between Noank and Stonington with all flags flying. She's a very nice little cutter!

[D. Stump, Honalei]

Craig, Some more info... I checked my hatches last night and noticed that the plexiglass is bedded in some type of semi-flexible sealer. Removing the glass and then rebedding it might be a real problem. I don't know now what I would do if I wanted to refinish them. It could be done, all it takes is time...

[Geoff]

Dear Walt, et al;

On the subject of hatches, the plexiglass on mine is so worn and scratched you can hardly see through them anymore; any recommendations for buffing them down again? Just good old rubbing compound, or something milder?

Thanks, by the way, for all the hard work on this site. This board has been my Bible for the last six months.

Geoff Safron



Brainstorm@Unidial.com

[Bob Loewenstein]

On the subject of hatches, the plexiglass on mine is so worn and scratched you can hardly see through them anymore; any recommendations for buffing them down again? Just good old rubbing compound, or something milder?

Our hatch was pretty translucent when we took possession of our boat. I just used plexiglass scratch remover and polish...just some abrasive product you can by for plexiglass. It worked great. The plexi looks new after using it. You can then clean the surface with a plexi cleaner (although soap and water will also work).



rfl@yerkes.uchicago.edu

[Olli Wendelin]

I had an electrical fire in the V-berth area of Blue Moon (CD30 Ketch) this spring. I am in the process of rebuilding the ceiling and replacing the fwd bulkheads. The lexan in the forward hatch was partially melted. Hatch removal went pretty easy. After removing the screws I pried the hatch up with a large screwdriver. A flexible sealant was used between the hatch and the deck. I plan to repaint the hatch, install new lexan and gaskets, and reinstall.

Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC



wendelin@spawar.navy.mil

[J. STEIN]

PLANNING TO REMOVE AND SAND BLAST HATCHES ON "76 PEARSON.ALSO WILL REPLACE GLASS.HATHCES ARE CURRENTLY BLACK-ROUGH SHAPE-BUT UNDERLYING METAL LOOKS GOOD.MATERIAL APPEARS TO BE AMALG-35 BASED ON WHAT I SEE IN CATALOGS. QUESTION IS: CAN THE HATCH BE LEFT WITHOUT PAINT-I.E. ALUMINIUM FINISH?

Also, is the hatch bedded with a sealant or adhesive? Removal tips?

I had no trouble removing and rebedding the Bomar hatch on the foredeck of my 1991 CD 30 powerboat. It was bedded with sealant. Just went around the edge prying gently with screwdrivers and cutting with a sharp knife. Masking tape down first, of course, to try to fend off gelcoat damage.

Key tip on rebedding hatches and windows: space the frame away from the body of the boat about 3/32" (I tape quarters to the boat so the frame just overlaps them a tiny bit), install with sealant and let cure. Then remove spacers, fill any gaps with sealant, and gently tighten down to create a positive gasket. Always use sealant, not adhesive

J.STEIN 11@AOL.COM