There was a recent thread on "Atkins Hoyle hatch alternative.” I’m running into the same issue. For a long while both small deck hatches on Grizabella had been very stiff and hard to open or close. When trying to free them up today the pin on the port hatch (above the galley) shattered on its forward section. The aft section is cracked and probably about to break. On the starboard hatch there is no sign of stress on the pin yet but it remains stiff and I’m afraid it will break too if I keep trying to free it up. I’m attaching a few pictures for reference.
I’m considering my options and would love to get feedback from anyone who worked on their hatches. My main questions:
The thread mentioned Hammerhead Nautical Systems (www.hhns.ca) but their website is unresponsive and I cannot find their contact information. Are they out of business?
If I decided to get new hatches from Atkins & Hoyle (I’ve seen the cost… sigh), are they a perfect drop-in replacement? Looks like it would be their XR90 model: XR 90 Offshore Cast Hatch
How’s the disassembly and re-assembly? I only see 4 screws at the corner of each hatch’s base, it doesn’t look like they’re through-bolted but it would be nice to get confirmation: are they screwed straight into the deck? When putting the replacement hatches in I was thinking I would probably re-bed with butyl tape but my understanding is that it works much better with through-bolts.
I don’t think I have the tooling needed to re-condition the existing hatches myself but I’d love to hear an informed opinion about difficult that could be.
I’ve replaced the hinge pins on all three of my deck hatches. They were so corroded that it was impossible to remove the pin in one piece. I also think they look good in black.
The pictures are captioned.
Thanks Paul. I’d seen your pictures in the other thread, they’re really, really useful. Can you comment on the process of removing a hatch and putting it back in: is it just the four screws around the base, screwed directly into the deck? Did you have to epoxy the screw holes and tap them before re-installing? And how about sealant?
No problem, thanks for the suggestion anyway. If anyone knows of a good metal shop around the Bay Area that would be able to re-condition these hatches it would help! Assuming it’s cheaper than ordering new ones, of course…
Thanks Nicolas. I document everything for just these reasons.
The hatches are all just screwed down into the raised mounting areas which are solid fibreglass so no epoxy coring is required. Just bed them in Sikaflex.
However when I did mine I was very disappointed with the job done in the factory.
Long story… Feel free to skip to the pictures…
The deck liner has a turned up “chimney” that forms the inside of the hatch opening. When the deck and liner are joined this should contact the underside of the deck and be bonded there.
The fast, easy, and safe way to cut the hatch opening in the deck is to drill a hole somewhere in the center, drop a flush cutting laminate type router bit through the hole, and let the bearing follow the “chimney” and cut a perfect opening.
The slower, harder, and riskier way is to just hack a hole from the outside and hope you get it right…which is how mine was done…and they didn’t.
I discovered this when tracking a persistent leak and upon examination discovered that all my hatches were done this way.
Just a warning of what you might find when you remove them. The album shows how you can restore the deck’s integrity if you have this issue.
Wow this is incredibly useful, thanks Paul. And sorry you had to discover this… hopefully mine will be in better shape, I’ll share pictures when the removal and re-installation take place.
I’ve restored all of my hatches and windows as well. New acrylic, sandblasting, new coating, new hinge rods, and new springs for the windows. It’s a very manageable DIY job, and well worth the effort.
I agree with almost everything Paul says, except for one detail: the solid fiberglass underneath the hatches. That wasn’t the case on my boat. Beneath the outer fiberglass skin, there was plywood around the hatch openings. The rest of the deck is, of course, balsa-cored.
I do completely agree with Paul that whoever was responsible for cutting the openings at the factory should probably have visited an optician first! The window openings were cut with exactly the same level of precision. Some are so roughly cut that the window flange only just manages to cover the hole.
Anyway, I wish you lots of success and enjoyment with the project. I hope the results turn out beautifully!
I removed and sent all four of my deck hatches back to Atkins & Hoyle to be rebuilt with new glass. Not cheap, but done right. My larger hatches had many more than just four screws holding them down, but they are all clearly accessable.
When using the Sikaflex to remount them, thought I had enough down for a watertight seal. Wrong.
So I removed three of them that failed the blasting hose test and re-bedded them with even more Sikaflex. Successful this time and no leaks. Just need to trim away the excess Sikaflex, but no hurry for me on that. Sealed the hold down screws no problem.
When removing the hatches, I found using a couple of 5 in 1 tool with a hammer helpful in breaking the seal and then removing the seal’s remnants from the deck and hatches.
Now if only my other projects were this straightforward!!
Thanks Mark and Chris! Lots of useful, practical suggestions from you both. More ideas and real-world experiences are very welcome, as they really help with planning the project.
I love my Nonsuch and the overall build quality, but I must say what I’m reading about the “approximate” cutouts is disappointing… oh well. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find they had a different technician with better eyesight in 1985 (when Grizabella was built) I’ll report back with pictures when I remove the hatches.
Wonderful infor and timely as I am about to undertake the same task. .I was thinking of poweder coating vs paint. More ecpensive but I think it will be more robust than paint.
My hinge pin on the top tends to move out and needs to tapped back so I lube them at that point as well give the hinge latch dogs. With the aluminum on stainless corrosion is always an issue.
Paul kindly giften me some gaskets .
It does seem Hammerhead is no longer in business, but there are other optiins as the size is pretty standard. Atkins is very expensive and service ranges from good to less good.
I’ll report back with pictures when I remove the hatches.