hatch lamination schedule?

[OldSkool67]

Im going to place another order for some cloth and Im trying to look ahead to the type of cloth to use when builing my hatch doors.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[RickK]

I'm not sure you can vary from what is around the hatch if you want them to be the same thickness/height - i.e. if you have 2 layers of 1708 on the top of the sole substrate, that would be what I would put on the hatch.

[Capt Matt]

1708 and strand
What hatches u building?
Capt Matt

[OldSkool67]

I was worried about the 1708 or 1808 not wanting to fill in the tight corners.

My floor and deck hatches... I may regret trying to do so but I dont want molded plastics so its really my only choice.

[Capt Matt]

For the floor  hatches the molded plastic hatches will crack
Give the plastic some florida sun and a miss placed step and someone will get hurt
I made all my floor and cabinet hatches with coosa, it was a lot of work but well worth it when they get lots of foot traffic
Would love to have found a plug/mold for floor hatches as I built all 4 the same size (large enough to fit a milk crate or 5 gal bucket)
My hatches are not perfect but have drain channels and are crazy strong
Capt Matt

[Capt Matt]

Got some pictures of hatches?

[OldSkool67]

Im starting from scratch so I don't have anything to show picture wise if that's what your asking... if you asking if I want to see pictures of yours absolutely... the more ideas the better.

how thick of coosa did you use for the doors?

[Capt Matt]

Cabinet wall and hatches at stern are 3/8 as they are vertical and never stepped on
Floor hatches I used 3/4 same as the deck
I built drain channels on underside of deck to support hatch lids before installing deck
There are pictures on my rebuild.
The amount of labor involved was crazy, but well worth it
If u want to take a look you are welcome to drive out and check it out
If I had to do it again I would look for a junk boat and cut the hatches out of it
Capt Matt

[fishinonthebrain]

I was worried about the 1708 or 1808 not wanting to fill in the tight corners.

My floor and deck hatches... I may regret trying to do so but I dont want molded plastics so its really my only choice.

I used 1708 on my hatch channels and doors. You just need to make sure you use clay for radius corners and take your time dry fitting cloth before you start. I also switched from epoxy to poly to have more working time.

[gran398]

Ordered deck hatches a while back for Miss D...High grade polymer hatches, Jim Black style.

Since she was new...friends PM'd and urged me to take a look at other options.

We ended up going with solid glass hatches. No core...half-inch solid glass.

This is an expenditure I don't regret. These hatches should be strong and solid fifty years from now.

I won't be here...but some of you will be, and I'll be smilin'

[CLM65]

Ryan,

I agree 100% on trying to make glass hatches versus the plastic ones.  I have not attempted any yet, but I've been thinking a lot about how I am going to do it and what material I will use.  I picked up a few yards of 1208 a couple of weeks ago - I figure it will be easier to conform to the tight corners and bends.  It will just take more layers than 1708.  I'm also thinking of using nidacore to core the hatch lids, although Scotty's solid glass hatches sound strong as crap.

I wish I had some real experience to share what worked for me, but I'm a bit behind you in the rebuild so a lot of my thoughts are just from what I have read online

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

[brianincc]

I have recently started a 76 222 but have not started a build thread yet. I have  worked on building some gutter and hatch plugs for it and should be ready to pull some molds off of this week.  I will try and post up some pics of the process when I do. I've built several sets of hatch and gutter molds and I like to have at least a 14" radius on everything. If your working from a mold and using polyester resin lay in a couple layers of mat before you start with the 1208. Letting each layer kick before beginning the next. The mat helps ease the radius some and allows your cloth to conform. Pre cut and fit everything and Make sure you roll everything out well.

[OldSkool67]

Thanks guys...

My plan was keep the hatch doors to two sizes so I would only have to build two molds and then I was just going to build my drip channels out of wood and glass them over.

I would love to see some pictures of how you built you channel brianincc

Capt Matt, I looked at your rebuild pics and yours came out great. How did you build your channels?

[Capt Matt]

I used PVC pipe to make the mold for the drain channels, Cut the corners at 45 degrees and stuck pipes together. Then sprayed it with Pam and hung the 1708 glass over it, After some trimming and fine tuning I glassed the drain channels to the cut outs under the deck with lots of layers.  The channels support the hatches and have to be crazy strong. With a small hole I cut a drain hole in the corner to run the plumbing out of the boat.
For the hatches I cut them over sized then shaped by hand, then strand around the rounded corners then 1708 then lots of strand to fill and make close to the size of the cut out. I then sanded the edge of the drain channel till the hatches sat flat. Top hide this edge I used plastic pop on trim strip.
If I had to do it again I would make the drain channels wider and deeper with a larger drain hole. maybe even square drain channels like on a pathfinder. I copied mine off my actioncraft just on a smaller scale. They work but heavy grass clogs them. I get lots of grass in my boat throwing the cast net or pulling a bait trawl.
Cabinet hatches where a piece of cake as drain channels are not needed
Good luck
Capt Matt