Bomar Saloon Hatch Model Number

[Ron Hill]

Bob : I think you may have missed one of my posts.  
When I tried to drill out the hinge pins I had a 1/4" drill bit break off in the hinge. I tried to get the the broken drill bit out, but couldn't!!
 
At that point I said "screw it" and replaced the entire hatch - see the Mainsheet tech notes.  

[Bob K]

Ron,
I did miss that post.  A likely ending for a project like that!

[Sailing Steve]

For future reference, if someone is simply looking to replace a hatch lens because it's cracked or just crazed and looking old, we've simply removed the lens from the frame and taken it to a plastics shop. They used the old lens as a template and cut a new one to match. We've done this for both the v-berth and saloon hatches - fairly easy job as well.  Economical and takes the worry about ordering the correct lens.

Steve

[stevewitt1]

Steve
Does the plastics shop provide the same materiel??  When you did this, was it easy to reuse any gasket?  I have lots of crazing in mine.  

Another Question for all:  I'm not at the boat now but the photo earlier in this post looks like my hatch over the V-berth.  That hatch has a screwy detent system in the hinge to hold it open.  I guess being an 89 these detents have worn because the don't hold it well and a couple of times it has slammed hard.  Now I bungee it open or block it open for smaller openings.
Can a slide with a tightening screw be added to these???

Just wondering and planning for the spring headaches work.

Steve
visit us at www.ocontoyachtclub.com

Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

[Bob K]

Steve,
I had the same issue a few years ago.  I bought a hinge rebuild kit and that solved the problem.  I purchased from Florida Rigging and Hydraulics.

[Kevin Henderson]

Reviving  this old topic for an update..... I know I'll probably get grief for taking soooo long to finally replace this hatch but the time had come.

Firstly... There are 3 holidays that I do not get out and sail on.  They are:  Memorial Day. 4th of July and Labor Day.  Too many crazies and besides.. It makes a great time to catch up on some maintenance projects.  

So it was for this weekend. I finally steeled my nerves to cut the old cracked hatch lens in the main salon.  I thoroughly cleaned the frame and cut the new gasket to fit.  I used 3M marine grade silicone sealant to lay the bed of silicone for the hatch lens and allowed it to cure for the full 24 hours as per the instructions.  The installation went very well and everything seemed to fit just right.  However, I thought the replacement gasket for the lens was a bit thicker than the lens gasket that I removed.  Nevertheless, I completed the replacement and let the project sit till today.  I reinstalled the hardware for the hatch and replaced O rings along the way. As much as I tried, I could not easily close the hatch fully because of the thickness of the gasket and not allowing the handles to clear the bottom lip of the hatch frame to secure in place.  
With some minor pressure my wife and I were able to close and secure the hatch to do a water tight test.  Thankfully, the hatch and leans is watertight and the replacement was a success.  However, I'm puzzled by the thick gasket the clearance to easily move the dogs to close the hatch.  
I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue.
I'm considering getting a couple more nylon washers and longer screws to gain the additional 1/8 -1/4" of space that I need.  

Any ideas?  

[Steve W10]

Hey Kevin, we did have another discussion about gaskets not long ago; it was with respect to the V-Berth hatch but it may help....
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6570.0.html
Good information on the first page but then the first entry on the second page shows an image of three gaskets.  I suspect the gasket may be your cause.

Regardless of the cause though, I would definitely do something to relieve that pressure on the dogs.  With temperature changes etc. I suspect it's only a matter of time before either the lens cracks or a dog breaks.  Also using a longer screw is a terrific idea, you don't want to reduce the number of threads securing it.  A PO of my boat used a shorter one on one side and it ripped out the few threads it was contacting.

Let us know.

S

[lazybone]

Bob : I think you may have missed one of my posts.  
When I tried to drill out the hinge pins I had a 1/4" drill bit break off in the hinge. I tried to get the the broken drill bit out, but couldn't!!
 
At that point I said "screw it" and replaced the entire hatch - see the Mainsheet tech notes.  

Do you happen to remember how much a new hatch was?

[Kevin Henderson]

Thanks Steve,

That was a good link and I'm glad someone documented the issue a better than me.

NOTE!! The photos in the following link refer to the Lewmar hatch in the forward V Berth.  NOT the Bomar hatch located in the Salon of which this discussion concerns.
 
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6570.0.html

That first post on the second page with the closeup of the 3 diffrent gaskets clearly identifies the issue I ran accross.  
The middle gasket in the picture is identical to the gasket that I had removed from the hatch.
The gasket on the right in the photo is exactly like the new gasket that I installed.

Not exactly clear in the photo but one can tell that the gasket on the right is probaly a good 1/8" taller.

I'm hoping the nylon shims and longer screws will take care of the problem.  Otherwise the seal is perfectly bone dry.

I'll let everyone know how I come out over the next weekend and I'll try to document a little better.  

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Be careful about your posts and make sure you are talking about the correct hatch -- Vberth hatch or the salon hatch!?!

Also about 1992 or 1993 Catalina started to install a Lewmar salon hatch instead of the Bomar center hatch.