Making Hatches?

[hunter]

Has anyone tried or seen a homemade forward hatch? - the large square hatches in the bow of the boat?

Mine is a tinted translucent fiberglass and the PO cracked it and made a crappy repair. It is for a Hunter sailboat and the shape of the hatch is a trapezoid(sp?). I was thinking about sandwiching some thick plexiglass between some mahogany - the mahogany would act as the perimeter frame which would rest on the deck when closed.

Just wondering if anything like this has been tried.

Thanks!

[gonzo]

It has for quite a few centuries. Look up any traditional book like "boatbuilding" by Howard Chapelle or "The Common Sense of Yacht Design" by Herreshoff.

[jbassion]

I am also in the process of re-building my front hatch, and with a sim. shape. This is my second attempt. At first look it appears simple, but you will be dealing with compound curves with difficult courners to miter, especially if you want a radius to the wood, and if you want a curved top to match the curve of the deck it gets even more difficult, because now you will have to bend 1/2" plexi. It is a good project and I wish you luck.

[djwkd]

m looking at building a hatch for my boat (17' shantyboat)

[jbassion]

I used teak slats. I stood in the center of the hatch and laminated the teak in place with wax paper between the deak and the hatch. If you want more info let me know.

[waikikin]

jbassion, that multi laminated mortise & tenon effect looks sweet, well done, nice teknic. Regards from Jeff.