Re: Flush Hatch thickness

Posted by LeeG on May 14, 2005

I built six flush hatches on four CLC kayaks using the cutout piece and ribs underneath. There's the same problem with the hatch springing past the rib slightly in the 3/4" overhang that the gasket sits on. Which is the same as with the regular top mounted hatches but it's acceptable. I'm not sure if a 8mm hatch built on a mold is any better fit than a 4mm hatch built with ribs. On a seperate issue regarding hatches,,it's worth building up a thick layer of epoxy on the hatch edges or applying some kind of edge reinforcement if you're going for the top notch cosmetic durability effort. When a kayak is sitting on the ground/rocks and you pop the hatch off most of the time the tethered hatch is tossed over the side,,and hitting whatever it hits. The edges can get easily dinged and open the center of the okoume to waterstaining. Some folks (Kurt?) have layed a thin bendable strip of wood on the edge. I've tried thickened epoxy (wood,cabosil) smoothed with alcohol or thin 3/4" strips of 4oz(tightweave) glass cut on the bias. Regular weave 4oz tends to come apart easily while being handled. The tight weave stuff doesn't come apart. Applying thickened epoxy takes a little more effort than the cloth. Either way its an obsessed way to ensure the same grain hatches will last as long as the deck.

In Response to: Flush Hatch thickness by SteveC on May 14, 2005

Replies:

No Replies.