Hatch Construction

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fallguy1000
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Hatch Construction

Post by fallguy1000 »

I know there is a tutorial on building a hatch here somewhere.

I priced out hatches for the Skoota and they are rather costly. I need to build two hatches that are big enough to put golf clubs in a bag inside. Those hatches don't need to be flush mounted, but they really need to be lockable, and I need access to the space for construction, so the hole is man sized. If you don't build a hatch flush mount; you still need to build a seal into it if you want stuff dry below. I watched a guy build a silicone gasket online; figured I'd try that.

Also, there are two hatches in the cockpit that must be flush hatches.

I figure I can build them for nearly nothing, but they will cost 150 each to buy. One of the cockpit hatches need to be watertight for lifevests; the other one is just a livewell lid, so watertight doesn't matter. The livewell lid might end up being two customized lids; one for bait box and one for fish box.

As long as I learn how to do it, I'd love to modify my boat hatch on my aluminum boat to watertight. Darn life vests mold in a hurry.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

csotelo
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by csotelo »

Hi,

Take a look at Seaslug builds, they have interesting hatches and instructions.

https://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=61678


Regards,

Carlos

seaslug
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by seaslug »

The hatches that I build are not that difficult or complicated, but they are rather labor intensive. If you're looking for hatches that will be guaranteed to keep out any water, they'll need wide and deep gutters, large drains, and a good closed cell foam gasket, and a latch that can pull the lid down tight against the gasket, otherwise you'll be very unhappy when they leak after all of your efforts. You also have to consider the cost of quality hinges, latch, and a lid support of some kind, which can easily add up to $75.00 plus per hatch. Also, the depth of my hatches with the deep gutters and drains sit about 4" below the deck level, which could be a problem for a boat with a cabin below. A good quality factory built hatch like a Bomar may be the best solution for a water tight hatch that does not hang so far below the deck. If you do decide to build hatches I'd be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. Mike

fallguy1000
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by fallguy1000 »

I don't want to use wood, but would be interested in learning how to do them. I need locks, too.

I need two flush and the other two can be above.

Corecell M80 or M200.

The flush mounts need to be walkable. Not a big fan of the 4" build. One of them is for a livewell.

Of course those are just deck hatches. Might need more.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

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Evan_Gatehouse
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by Evan_Gatehouse »

The driest hatches are commercially built ones like Bomar -but with 4 dogs. These withstand immersion of say 1' of water on top of them. (rough seas on the bow of my sailboat).

Pompanette/Bomar used to sell seconds with minor cosmetic defects. Can't seem to find them on their web site any more. About $120 for a 24" square low profile hatch. Will stand up to a few inches of water pressure but not more. I'd consider them "weathertight" but not watertight.

Better home made hatches are raised "shoebox lid" types, with a high coaming. They withstand waves pretty well and have no problems with rain. A closed cell gasket is adequate with them. To withstand wave impacts etc. they need at least 1 over center clamp to squish the gasket down.

Flush hatches are the hardest to make homemade. For those you do need a deep gutter with an internal drain tube. You should also try to find a hollow gasket, like a car door. Hollow gaskets compress a lot more and just do a better job than plain weatherstripping. Then you need to clamp the hatch down. If you can accept small low profile dogs, you can have ones that rotate only if you are compressing the gasket by standing on it. You can seal the hatch dog machine screw with an O-ring under the dog.

Russell Brown makes hardware (delrin dogs) for this application but they are not cheap. He uses black surgical tubing as the gasket. LIke a giant O-ring. It seems to work well but labour intensive.
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fallguy1000
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by fallguy1000 »

Evan_Gatehouse wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2017 1:23 am
Better home made hatches are raised "shoebox lid" types, with a high coaming. They withstand waves pretty well and have no problems with rain. A closed cell gasket is adequate with them. To withstand wave impacts etc. they need at least 1 over center clamp to squish the gasket down.

I don't get the over center and where do u put the gasket so it doesn't deform? Can't you use a silicone gasket? Those closed cells break down ez unless you know of something great.

I want to make two shoebox lids on my forward hatches, but I need to enter those areas physically for build a/o assembly, so can't have anything in the way unless the lid clamp is just on the lid. I have this vision of a board that sits in a groove under the deck and when you loosen the cover it drops. Then does the lid cover a have a threaded handle?

I think I'll buy the flush mounts.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

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topwater
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Re: Hatch Construction

Post by topwater »

Go to Armstrong engine bracket web site and check out how they build there hatch latching system for the rectangular hatches.
These are the same hatches they use for the engine brackets "the round hatches" , very water proof.
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