Hatch leak

S

Simplicity

New member
We thought the boat was ready to go until we had a heavy driving rain and realized we have a leak around the Bomar hatch. Although I'm not sure I think the leak is between the deck and hatch and not between the cover and the rubber gasket. I guess this means removing the hatch and rebeding it.Any ideas from any C-Brats? If I have to remove it any opinions on what to use to bed it?
Thanks
Alan
 
Hmm one post on this disapeared into cyber space.

I had to repair both the Tom Cat (came that way from the factory) and the 25. The Tom Cat had too large a cutout for the hatch, so we had to add glass around the edges.

The 25 had an extra hole, and not enough bedding. On both hatches this allowed us to properly seal the edges of the cored deck. There was either gel coat or Bostic coating the edges--whihc is not enough sealant. The proper way is to slightly undercut the core, fill with thickened epoxy and then rebed the hatch with copious amounts of 4200.

Rebed_foredeck_hatch029.jpg
 
Thanks for the advice Dr Bob. I imagine it'll be a bear to get it out.No problem for thousands of cruising miles and now a leak. Stuff happens.
Alan
 
Same here. My hatch leaked and all I had to do was tighten the screws in the two handles that lock it in place.
No more leaks.
Did it over a year ago.
 
I tried tightening both hatch and handle screws but no luck.I'll take the hatch out if I have to. I wonder about "reaming out" that small area from the inside and caulking from the inside. Thanks for the feedback.
Alan
 
Removing the hatch is easy, and is easy to put back on. Work the corners up first with putty knife or scrapers and then screwdrivers if necessary. Don't bend the flange. Use masking tape to keep the bedding compound "in check'--put plastic on the inside to keep any debris out of the bunk area. Completely clean off the old bedding compound. This is one good reason to completely remove the hatch.
 
Glad I removed the hatch. The core was wet and I removed quite a bit. Next I'll fill in with epoxy and then re bed the hatch.I wonder if other Cape cruisers might have this problem also.
 
Probably not unique to the CC. Most any boat with an improperly installed hatch and a balsa core would have the same problem. Glad you got it fixed...

Charlie
 
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