Oops! Hatch Stiffener

Posted by Monterey Matt on Jul 16, 2005

I was test-fitting a hatch stiffener for the forward edge of the forward hatch, and it snapped as I was bending it to the underside of the deck. I had inadvertently positioned it against the sheer clamp while fitting it -- it was a bit too long, as it turned out, and the extra camber, as it were, was too much.

The snap didn't go all the way through and I have a bit of scrap from trimming that is almost as long as the original stiffener. My proposed solution is to double the stiffener -- put the half-snapped part on the bottom of a stack, as it were (on the deck) and then put the scrap on top of that as additional stiffening.

The other alternatives were:

- just use the shorter, scrap piece as the stiffener - epoxy on the two pieces side by side, with the unbroken shorter piece closer to the bow

...but in looking at the situation, if the intent is to stiffen up the edges, it seemed to me like there would be more strength in doubling-up.

Any comments? I'm gluing the after hatch right now, will get to the forward hatch either tonight or tomorrow morning, so I have time to change my mind again.

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