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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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My hatchboards are dying!

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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/01/2005 : 14:10:18

Hi folks,

Regrettably, my hatchboards are terminal.

I think they'll be with me for a little while yet, but they are definitely coming apart at the seams. I know this subject has been talked about before, but I don't really see spending $400.00 for a new set.

Has anyone tried a different, cheaper, way? I'm thinking of buying some starboard and fashioning new hatchboard out of it. Last time I bought some it was half inch thick, which I think would be thick enough. The only problem I see is water coming in where the boards meet. Maybe I could fashion some sort of J-channel between the boards to prevent this? Anyone else done something similar? I'd hate to reinvent the wheel.

Ben
Beneteau 361
Viking Kitty
Columbus, Ohio

Edited by - on

Auburn80
1st Mate

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60 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 17:59:40

Starboard ain't cheap but I doubt it would total anywhere near $400. Simple matching rabbet joints would work fine or matching angle cuts.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 18:51:26

Before you give your old hatchboards their last rites, I'd try resurrecting them with a little glue and sandpaper first just to see if they can be salvaged. My hatchboards looked pretty bad when I got my boat, but with a little elbow grease they came out looking sweet. I'm sure Norm Abrams would try and save them!

Edited by - dlucier on 07/01/2005 18:52:16

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1773 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 19:43:46

Hi Ben,

I agree with Don ... before you throw them in the dumpster, I'd give serious thought to fixing your old hatchboards.

Two of the three hatchboards on my boat were broken when I picked up my boat. I took them to a cabinet maker, and he used Gorilla Glue to glue the pieces back together. I also gave him a piece of scrap teak that he used to replace part of a missing hatchboard. He charged me $60.

If your boards don't look any worse than these, then you've still got hope:

'Sorry ... I don't have a good photo showing the hatchboards after I refinished them, but they look even better than Don's ...

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 19:46:48

I agree with Don that you should try to glue them back together if possible, but you can fabricate new ones with a table saw, or with a circular saw and a router, or similar tools. I made some by cutting the basic shapes with a circular saw, and then made the overlaps with a router. It was the first time I ever used a router, so, I'm definitely no Norm Abrams.

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 21:12:34

I redid my hatch boards too and let me tell you, I'm no carpenter. I saved all the sanding dust from them and mixed it with epoxy to fill cracks and divits. They don't look new, but they do look fine. I had no choice, no one makes replacements for the Capri and they are quite different from the Catalina 25's.

Edited by - existentialsailor on 07/04/2005 08:43:52

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 21:45:24

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Buzz Maring
 'Sorry ... I don't have a good photo showing the hatchboards after I refinished them, but they look even better than Don's ...

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hey now, Buzz! Now I wanna see them thar "after" photos of your boards!

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 07/01/2005 : 23:08:57

I made new ones out of solid mahogany (no glue joints)... cost about $50 for the board.
All you need in the way of equipment is a table saw. (having a dado blade is useful but not essential)

Note that if you use Mahogany, the hatchboards must be completely sealed otherwise they will cup.
Have about 10 coats of cetol on mine... doing ok.

Edited by - on

bnpirate
1st Mate

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33 Posts

Response Posted - 07/02/2005 : 00:19:02

just cut the bottom and top at an angle so any water drains out.
I made boards for my last boat, a Coronado 23 out of oak ply wood.
Brian

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 07/02/2005 : 05:58:19

Thanks everyone. I'll try saving what I have. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll try mahogony.

Edited by - on

ronrryan
Admiral

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USA
561 Posts

Response Posted - 07/02/2005 : 12:29:03

Make a one-piece temporary hatchboard out of scrap plywood that you can drop in whilst you take your ailing boards home to the garage and revitalize them. Easy to do and cheap. Good luck ron srsk Orion SW FL

Edited by - on

thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2005 : 09:04:44

While I was refinishing my hatchboards I made a temporay replacement out of 3/8" tinted plexiglass, heat bending the top at about 70 degrees for stiffness. The tinting shows you that it is inplace. It later became useful while moored to create additional cabin light.

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chancewane
Deckhand

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USA
17 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2005 : 10:22:42

Thaind,

How big was the bend, and how did you heat bend it? I've seen some boats at our marina with plexiglaas hatches and want to make one.

Steve

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2005 : 11:02:48

Just a side note on measuring and cutting these pups.

When I made mine I ran into issues with an oversight.

I measured the companionway angle on one side of the old boards and used it to set up the new cuts.

Then to my dismay, I found out that the companionway opening was slightly asymmetrical ! That launched a round of fitting that took a lot of time.

Not much on these boats is 'true'.

Edited by - on

thaind
Navigator

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Canada
145 Posts

Response Posted - 07/03/2005 : 20:05:44

The bend was about 2" horizontal and then about an inch down. Point being that it reinforces the whole thing. I made a template first out of cardboard, but never checked it for symmetry. File, sand, and buff edges. I have a 48" strip bender that is simply an electric heating rod in a slot. It would be hard to make a similar bend with a heat gun. I did the bending before cutting the piece to size on a bandsaw. Seemed easier to cut the shape square to the bend than make the bend square to the shape.

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