What to do with hatch boards

[waughoo]

Sure wish the mk1.5 had that kind of space there.  That is a great system for storing the boards.

[Breakin Away]

Quick follow-up: I refinished my hatchboards last week. You can see some gray in the pictures above. When I bought the boat they were old and gray, so about 4 or 5 years ago I did a major job to restore them. This time around I had let them go about a year too long, so it took some prep, but not nearly as much as before. I didn't strip everything off, just enough stripping and sanding in the weathered sections to allow penetration of some bleach solutions and then some oxalic acid brightener, followed by more sanding and several coats Spar PU varnish:

[waughoo]

Looks nice and tidy!  Mine are still grey and weathered.  That project hasn't made it to the top of the list yet since purchasing.

[Noah]

Nice! BTW—the MKI uses only two hatch boards.

[scgunner]

I'm surprised Catalina went to a three board hatch cover on the Mk II when the Mk I had only two. Just one extra board to have to handle, store, and maintain. My first boat a Cat 27 had four, what a pain! I finally tired of refinishing the original teak boards and cut new ones out of Starboard, they're maintenance free and lighter than the originals.

[Noah]

I guess that is why they opted to design in a storage rack for the three boards in MKII. I made a second set of smoked acrylic that I use when at anchor durin the day or if down below if windy or raining. Closes things up but lets in light.

[waughoo]

Noah... you sure keep a tidy ship!  Those hatch boards are delicious.

[Noah]

Thx Alex. I enjoying keeping her "ship-shape". Keeps me busy and makes me happy.