Hatch Replacement

Another weekend, another project. This week required the salon hatches to be removed and the wooden supporting ring replaced. With two very damp winters and what is now looking to be a dodgy batch of Sikaflex allowing drips to filter through, the wood had rotted sufficiently that it required full replacement.

Off to the local lumber yard we picked up some Iroko & Mahogany hardwood for a very good deal (about £40 for 9m of 50 x 40) then set about removing the old hatches, cleaning up the deck & surrounds, then trimming and fitting the new hatches. What an effort. This photo was mid-way through removal of the old hatch surrounds.

Anyways, fitted the new hatch surrounds and have had reports from the guy working for me that there's been no leaks. We used 3M's 5200 this time to attach the wood surround with Sika 292 holding down the hatch itself, along with 52 stainless screws. That should just about do it.

What else. The guy working for me has almost finished sanding back the toe rail, so next on the list when the weather clears up will be to get a few coats of white paint on it. The deck also needs a re-paint in a slightly darker shade of buff.... or maybe we'll just go for a layer of Flexi-Teek. Watch this space.

Our autopilot also arrives in the next week or so and I'm working on acquiring a diesel cooker to replace the existing electric galley. Another 3.5 day boat weekend is coming up (the joys of consulting) so I'm sure there'll be more solid progress to report soon.