Aquasport 222 identification and rebuild

[h20ryder]

Finshed adding fairing compound to entire floor last night. Hopefully starting to longboard this evening.

I'm not sure what I will do to seal the access panels. Maybe route a chanel on the underside of each hatch then glue in some black rubber tubing to act as a gasket. I don't want hinges tho, a clean look with a single slam latch will be the only hardware showing. Not looking forward to building 13 access hatches...although I did keep each plywood cutout from when I built the floor and one side is already glassed in 2 layers of 6oz cloth.

I haven't figured out the rigging through the transom yet. I'm waiting for my transom bracket to arrive then I will mark and drill all the holes and try to figure out the best looking method of rigging. Also need to cut scuppers after the install to make sure they will clear the swim platform and be out of the way of trim tabs. I'm going to countersink some drain chanels for the scuppers so they sit about 0.5" below the main floor for easy draining. Any suggestions on rigging tube location would be great since I have no idea what I'm doing!
Thanks

[gran398]

So guess you're going with stainless piano hinges as they are hidden.

The slam latches are available in a style that the cams adjust underneath to  "lock" tight to the adjoining lip. You can push the hatch down a little into the neoprene you're speaking of...you should have a tight seal.

[h20ryder]

Sorry, I guess they are not slam latches they are "turn latches" and have adjustable depth cam. I really like the Taco Marine F16-3000. They are only 3/32" high on the top flange of the surface mount.

I don't really want a piano hinge either. Was thinking about building a lobe that is permanently attached to the hatch lid that would just slip under the lip to hold it secure opposite side of the latch:


Any suggestion where to buy stainless latches for a good price? Do we have any members on here that have online stores and could ship to CA?

[CLM65]

How's this?

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9764

The only thing about these latches is they are not true compression latches.  Southco and Gemlux, among others, make nice compression latches.  They may be better at "squeezing" a gasket if that is the way you go.

[Blue Agave]

IMO no hinges is a mistake. Every time you open a hatch you will need to place the hatch down on the deck which is a safety issue. Not only the hatch itself lying on the deck but the opening as well is a safety issue.

Piano hinges are an option, personally I'd go with these;

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/AC-713.htm

[gran398]

Agreed. Open a hatch, fish hits...someone slides on a hatch or steps in a hole. Or....wave breaks in the boat, bilge floods.

Think about piano hinges if you like the "no hinge" look.

[dburr]

Absolutely killer progress!!    

Hinges x3!

The idea you have will work but what you will find that the seal on the off latch side is going to be hard to keep in place.  The slide and pinch motion will tend to work it loose.  I had that problem on cockpit bench seat hatches on a blow boat that I worked on.  Plus when the engine was powered up they rattled horribly.  We ended up going with the flush style in the James Town link..

Take a look at
 http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2247&familyName=Hatch+Hinges
in Chromed bronze..

This is the style that is on the Osprey and they are rather rugged..  

If you mortise these into the deck and hatch to a depth that is as deep as the top of the hinge joint you will not have to worry about smashing toes, but when opened the hatch will not lay flat on the deck without over stressing the hinge joint.  That shouldn't be an issue with your layout, it looks like the hatches will swing and lean on the console or the sides of the hull.  This type hinge will help hold the hatch down on a gasket too.

Another option is this type of jointed hinge
http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/SPECIALTY+HINGES/Hatch+Hinges+and+Hardware/
this style can be mounted dead flush and the joint will allow the hatch to open and lay flat, BUT!, when you put a gasket under the hatch the joint will stick up and grab your toes...

In either case, with only one latch you will not get a true water tight seal because the hatch cover is going to flex, you can slow the water intrusion down but it will not stop.  To be water tight, I am afraid that you are going to need more then one latch per hatch, especially without a sealing lip.. :cry:

Keep strokin! Absolutely fantastic progress!!!  

[h20ryder]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and links. I really didn't want toe stubbers all over my deck so I probably shouldn't have gone so crazy with hatches. It all makes sense and I will add hinges. I will countersink them so they sit flush with the surface instead of using piano hinges.

CLM65 thanks for the link on the installed Taco latch too. I searched Google images and couldn't find any pics installed. Looks perfect and clean.

I ordered some rubber weatherstripping from eBay and will try that as a hatch seal. Planning on building the 2 smallest hatches this weekend for a test fit and will post pics.

Started fairing with a longboard and sanding block last night. I feel like the fairing compound made the floor more uneven than the glass under it. Feeling like I created way too much extra work that wasn't needed. Any tips or tricks for fairing I should know about?

[CLM65]

IMO no hinges is a mistake. Every time you open a hatch you will need to place the hatch down on the deck which is a safety issue. Not only the hatch itself lying on the deck but the opening as well is a safety issue.

Piano hinges are an option, personally I'd go with these;

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/AC-713.htm

That hinge looks awesome, especially if you have enough room to lay the open hatch down flat on the deck.  But will that type of hinge (with two hinge pins) allow you to get enough compression on a gasket to keep water out?  I'm afraid that type of hinge would allow too much flexibility on the hinged side.  I'm sure it would be fine if you have gutters and are not worried about where the water goes, but if you are looking for a water-tight seal would they work?

[Blue Agave]

IMO no hinges is a mistake. Every time you open a hatch you will need to place the hatch down on the deck which is a safety issue. Not only the hatch itself lying on the deck but the opening as well is a safety issue.

Piano hinges are an option, personally I'd go with these;

http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/AC-713.htm

That hinge looks awesome, especially if you have enough room to lay the open hatch down flat on the deck.  But will that type of hinge (with two hinge pins) allow you to get enough compression on a gasket to keep water out?  I'm afraid that type of hinge would allow too much flexibility on the hinged side.  I'm sure it would be fine if you have gutters and are not worried about where the water goes, but if you are looking for a water-tight seal would they work?

Craig, great observation!  I agree they will not work in the manner you describe and will flex.  For what h2oryder wants to accomplish the piano hinges will be the best option.  Although, even with a compression fit those hatches will be wet due to the fact that the openings do not have drip rails and are not plumbed.

[gran398]

Depends on the outside fit. If its tight, and the cams are tight...shouldn't leak much if the deck drains and self-bails correctly.

[h20ryder]

It took so much resin and 407 fairing compound to cover the floor, walls, bow seats. Long board fairing isn't too bad on the open flat spots but the tight spots and corners/edges are horrible and almost impossible.
407 filler is too hard so going to orbital sand down all compound (blocking is doing very little even with 60 grit) and try the notched trowel method with 410 micro light compound which I hope sands ALOT easier.
Anyone used the notched filler method and think it works better?

[gran398]

Looking good!

At this point...it is a function of materials used...or avoided.

Fair with easily sandable material in the putty mix. Microballoons, colloidical silica, etc.

Darn nice work!

 

[dburr]

Hopefully you have one of these, they make life a bunch easier...

http://www.amazon.com/Ingersoll-IRT315-Piston-Straight-Sander/dp/B00004XOT5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371817245&sr=8-1&keywords=inline+sander

Sharp cabinet scrapers also work really well and fast.  If you hold the scraper on a angle as you use it it will tend to smooth more evenly and grab less.

They can be bought relatively cheaply  from Amazon or you can home make any shape you want from an old handsaw blade...

No matter what, you're looking at a heinous upper body workout!

[h20ryder]

I picked up an inline sander this morning, thanks for pointing that out. I only have a 15 gallon compressor so not sure how it will work. Maybe it will give a few minutes of power before needing to refill my tank?

Started using a mouse sander for the corners and edges. Works pretty good at keeping joints sharp.