Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

I think the subject says it all but just wanted to see how screwed I am. This is my first stitch and glue project and I made the honest mistake of marking the hatch cutout with the hatch sill instead of the hatch sill spacer on my Shearwater 17. Didn't notice it until I epoxyed the doubler to the hatch cutout due to the small ledge left for the gasket. Curious if I can cut away some doubler material and fabricate my own sill, sill spacer, and rims and just have a smaller hatch. 


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RE: Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

ouch....

mistakes happen.    you could go with your approach, but when it is all said and done it may be easier to have them ship you a small piece of sapelle to cut new hatches and do it the right size.

you can use a heat gun to heat the existing undersized hatch and hatch doublers which softens the epoxy and should allow you to pull them apart.

if you did this to both hatches, the aft undersize hatch can be the full size forward hatch and you only need a replacement piece of sapelle for the aft hatch.   this way, all the rest of the parts can be used and you are not into complex fabrication of a lot of parts.

the reason i am suggesting this is two part.  one, i have built the shearwater 17 and the sapelle is nice and dark so nobody but you will notice that the hatch was not directly cut from the same piece.  as far as i am aware, the sapelle is very color consistent and dark.  clc can probably confirm that.   second, i just think fabricating all the other pieces now which have to be adjusted is going to be a pain.

all that said, your approach would work as well and i can't see any real problem with it other than smaller hatches and a lot of work to make all the adjustments.  its advantage is, if you like your hatch cut-outs, is at least the most outwardly visible element is done and looks fine.

h

RE: Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

Is your hatch in the right place, just too small? Did you line up the sill with the panel lines, moving the hatch forward? If it is too small, but in the right palce, I agree that you should try to get the right size hatch. If it is too small and in the wrong place, the fix is alot more complicated, or just live with a small hatch. JRC.

RE: Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

   I marked the hatch with the sill and still lined it up with the edges of the deck panel so it's too small and too far forward. I've been thinking about how to make my own components and will chronical on here my path forward for any other unfortunate souls that make my mistake. I'll add pictures of my process as well. 

Thanks for the input. 

RE: Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

I had to go look at my shearwater 17 before answering you. There is no problem making a smaller hatch. You can definately modify all the parts for a smaller hatch - Sill, Spacer, and rim. You can subtract the size difference from the straight portions of these pieces and just glue them all back together to form new smaller pieces. there is nothing about those parts that can't be formed by thicken epoxy anyway. Also, When the hatch top is secured, no one can see any of the underlying detail. Meaning, no one will ever know once you are finnished!

The spacer piece is prone to breaking anyway - one of mine broke in several places and I fixed it with htickened epoxy.

Solving problems like this is all part of boat biulding! Enjoy. 

Joel

 

RE: Accidentally marked the hatch with the sill instead of the sill spacer..obviously a novice.

I agree with Joel, with one exception. Are you planing on doing any extended touring/camping? Can you get a foam sleeping pad into the hatch? Pillow? Sleeping bag? I would contact CLC about a new hatch cover and doubler. Leave the front edge where it is, but push the back edge to the normal length. You will end up with a hatch that is skinny, but the right length. Good luck. JRC.

$59 but is enough material to built 2 full hatches. Just one cover and doubler should be cheaper. http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-gear/kayak-gear-accessories/kayak-flush-hatch-kit.html

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