I need a fix for my main hatch

[preserved_killick]

My main hatch can come off the tracks with less effort than I'd like. The setup may be common, I don't know, but the hatch slides on SS rails, and the hatch holds onto the rails with 4 bronze ovals that overlap the underside of the rails. If you push the hatch to one side it can be lifted straight up and off. Not a good thing should we capsize.




It would seem that the easy way to fix this would be to move the bronze ovals inward, but then how do I get the hatch back on the track?

One thing I'm wondering is if I put the track back on incorrectly after painting. The track has cut-outs that I assumed were for the drop boards. If I turned the tracks so the cutouts were facing outward, and forward, perhaps I could slide the ovals onto the tracks from the front using these cutouts?



How is this normally set up on boats with wood hatches? I'm not looking to cross the Southern Ocean, but would like this to be a little sturdier.

-jeff

[cantstopnow]

Did this problem develop after you re-installed the hardware? or slowly over time?

[Hirilondë]

My newly constructed main hatch uses a similar attachment assembly. My hatch can not be removed at all without removing the 4 bronze pieces that fit on the sliding hatch itself and hook under the aluminum tracks attached to the cabin top. Yeah, I know I should replace the aluminum with bronze or SS, but that just hasn't happened yet. These 4 pieces are screwed to the hatch after it is in place and by holding the hatch down it can not lift up, which means it can not slide any more forward than open because stops collide before it can slide off the track. It can not slide any more aft than closed due to the foreward part of the slider overlapping the raised part of the opening on the cabin top. This overlap is what makes the hatch water repellent. Off shore boats usually add a sea hood over the forward part of the opening. The slider's foreward end is thus made almost water proof by this added overlap. The slider then slides forward into the sea hood when opened.

It would seem that the easy way to fix this would be to move the bronze ovals inward, but then how do I get the hatch back on the track?

That is probably the best way to repair it as well. It is hard to tell from you pictures, but do these ovals capture the track on the outside of the hatch opening, or the inside? Mine are on the inside which is why I can screw them in place with the hatch already on the tracks. If yours are on the outside, and this is how it looks in the picture, then it is a design flaw in my opinion, and this is why they are attached in such a manner that the hatch can be removed simply by moving it to the side. Is there a lip with room on the inside edge of the track? Can you move the capture ovals to the inside of the hatch and capture the track on the inside edge in such a manner that it will slide properly?

[preserved_killick]

I don't know the history of the situation so I can't tell if it progressed. We didn't use the boat before I took everything apart & put it back together again. Could be that I out something back incorrectly, but apart from the tracks I can't see another way.

The shoulder to mount the ovals is on the outside, nothing to mount the ovals to on the inside. There is a lip of the track on the inside however.

The catch is, that if I move the ovals closer inboard, then I need a way to get the hatch back on after I move them. I'd never be able to screw them in place while the hatch is on the track. I suppose I could mark the position, drill the pilot holes, put the hatch on the track and try to screw the ovals in using some sort of right angle ratcheting screwdriver gadget similar to a ratcheting socket wrench. I wonder if this is how it was set up from the factory.

-jeff

[Hirilondë]

The catch is, that if I move the ovals closer inboard, then I need a way to get the hatch back on after I move them. I'd never be able to screw them in place while the hatch is on the track. I suppose I could mark the position, drill the pilot holes, put the hatch on the track and try to screw the ovals in using some sort of right angle ratcheting screwdriver gadget similar to a ratcheting socket wrench. I wonder if this is how it was set up from the factory.

That might be tricky to do, but well worth a try. So is adapting a method for moving the capture pieces to the inside, even if it requires some modification or the fabrication of a new design of capture hardware. I would choose the 2nd option if in fact the track as it is now would adapt to the procedure. You can always epoxy a wooden "shoulder" to the hatch in an appropriate location.

[cantstopnow]

Can you unscrew the track, place the tighter hatch over the tracks. Then screw the track down by sliding the hatch forward or back?

[Chris Campbell]

The hatches I've removed and re-installed from three of my boats were all similar to this - held on on the outside of a metal strip (variously stainless or aluminum) by something that could catch. Either removable, as you have, or permanent, as Tim has constructed several times: http://www.lackeysailing.com/bolero/july08/72208.htm. In either case the hatch could not be removed except by taking a piece of wood that ran across either the front of the hatch or the back, preventing it from sliding either too far forward (the piece at the back), or too far back (the piece at the front). Does that make any sense?

[Hirilondë]

Does that make any sense?

It makes complete sense Chris, and it is often how they work, but I think it is a terrible design. If this is how the hatch comes on a boat, then maybe it is not worth the effort to change it. That is a matter of opinion each person has to sort out. But if one is going to go through much effort to remove and replace a hatch, then making a modification is certainly something to consider. And if someone is going to build a new hatch, then making it easily removable, which is an easy thing to do is even more worthy of consideration.

As much as Figment likes to comment about how it is all connected, I like to mention that everything on a boat is removed some day. Both of these truisms are worth considering at all times when working on a boat.

[Quetzalsailor]

I blathered on this topic this morning but must have hit the DUMMY button. (It moves all over the keyboard...) Hirilonde has it right as usual: gotta be easy to fiddle with and remove as well as be strong. Certainly the fiddly LeComte multi-part track and the way you have to remove the sea-hood to defeat the stop is a pain. And it's a bit dainty, too. Gimme nice big chunky wood track parts, or similarly robust metal ones, and a stop I can get a screwdriver on!

Seems a quick fix to the oval might be an 'L' shaped replacement with screws into the sides.

[Mark F]

My Ericson 27 has a similar setup. You should be able to undo the screws holding the slides (try leaving the forward most screws on each side), then close the hatch, lift and slide it past the cabin-top "curb". This works if you do not have a seahood. Here is a photo of my companionway hatch/slides.

[preserved_killick]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was able to move the ovals inboard, to a measurement less than the width of the tracks. To install I removed one track, then reattached by sliding the hatch forward and back to sink the screws. Feels more secure now.