Hi Patrick, Hatches look great. I have been dealing with these too. In my case, I had a broken hinge and I was not sure if it was fixable. I ended up replacing all hinges, so I now have 3 original hinges which I am no longer using.
I just quickly posted photos and a short description online: http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/2015/12/renewing-galley-and-head-hatches.html Since I had to make my own lenses, I purchased enough acrylic to replace the lens in the other two hatches. I have finished the mid-sized hatch, and I am about to start on the larger hatch. Before I remove it, I want to acquire new handle gaskets (I believe they are actually oil seals). - Paul E. 1981 C&C 38 Landfall S/V Johanna Rose Carrabelle, FL http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/ > Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2016 14:51:33 -0700 > From: Patrick Davin <jda...@gmail.com> > To: "cnc-list@cnc-list.com" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com>, Frederick G > Street <f...@postaudio.net> > Subject: Re: Stus-List little A&H hatches on a LF38 > Message-ID: > <cahixy6sughi1gc1ia2fkn1yns0feh5t-rseobecoxsgb3-m...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > I finished installing the new hatch lenses this weekend. Thanks again Fred > for the effort you went to getting these made and shipped! Here are some > before + after photos showing how great they look: > > https://goo.gl/photos/JZBXFFRNyUYRhWAD9 > > It took me 8 hours, about 4 for each window. But if you're not an OCD > perfectionist it might take you half that time. > > And a few tips for those who haven't installed yet (sorry this turned out > very long): > > - Surprisingly, dis-assembly went quite quick - I expected some seriously > corroded / stuck fasteners, but brute force (no breaker bar needed) got > them all apart without breaking. Used PB Blaster on one, not sure if it > made a difference. > - The lenses were about 1/8" longer than my current ones, and didn't quite > fit - so I had to sand down a few corners with a Dremel sanding drum. I'm > not sure if there were slight variations in the frame size from year to > year, or if it's just a cutting inaccuracy (it's hard cutting to within > millimeter precision, so I don't blame the fabricator!). I used a coarse > sanding drum, then medium, and finished hand sanding with 180 or 320 grit. > - The biggest time sink comes down to how your hinges are done. The > original hinges have a cast aluminum tapped (threaded) cylinder attached to > the hinge, which an SS bolt was screwed into. It's a neat design (no > penetrations above the hinge means fewer things to seal) but obviously > dissimilar metals corrode. There are basically two options: > - My head hatch already had the hinges thru-bolted (drill 1/4" and mount > a hex bolt through it from the top). One hinge I had done myself when the > aluminum disintegrated last year, and the other had already been done. > However I still had to dremel down the remaining cast aluminum cylinder - > in order to get the hinges to seat flush with the new acrylic, because I > don't want to drill a 5/8" clearance hole like the lenses originally had. A > 1/4" hole is much easier to drill (but then the cylinder can't seat in > that). > - Reuse the existing tapped aluminum. My galley hatch ones were in > surprisingly good shape. After some cleanup with mineral spirits, the > original bolts threaded into the aluminum just fine. So I decided to save > the trouble of cutting them of, and reuse them (with lots of Lanocote or > TefGel). However drilling 5/8" holes in acrylic is hard, so that created > some trouble. The fitting is 1/2" but the original holes were 5/8" - you > need some clearance for expansion. Plas Drill bits max out at 1/2", and I > didn't have one that size on hand anyway. I did a test drill on the old > hatch acrylic with a 1/2" standard bit, and it took a big chip out of the > surface when it exited the other side. 1/2" drill bits are hard to use even > on wood without chipping. I bought a 5/8" Forstner bit and a 5/8" cheap > hole saw and went to the shop to use the drill press. This page has advice, > including on forstner bits for acrylic: http://www.bcae1.com/plexi.htm > The Forstner was very slow and required a lot of pressure on the drill > press. It didn't melt, but I wouldn't use it again for acrylic this thick. > The Forstner chipped the edge on the exit. And broke the drill stop collar > on the drill press. But I didn't have a plywood backer, I was using a > doubled-over cardboard Amazon box (because I couldn't find my drilling > backer at the time) - so this was my fault for a dumb idea. > On the next hole, the hole saw with the aggressive teeth did melt the > acrylic, but went much faster. Water didn't really seem to slow the > melting, but the melted bits were not really a problem. The acrylic is so > thick and the 5/8" hole quite large, that a little melting on the perimeter > caused no noticeable damage. > > - 1/4" Plas Drill bit worked great. I used that for the knob latch screws > and for the two thru-bolts on the head hatch. The thru-bolts I used were > 1/4" I think, so I jangled the bit around to enlarge the hole so I'd have a > bit more clearance for heat expansion. If I were to redo the 5/8" holes I > think I'd get a 1/2" Plas Drill and then enlarge the hole with a Dremel. > > I did all this while we had two gales blow through Seattle this weekend. > The one on Sunday winds peaked at 57 knots. Finishing the install with a 5 > to 8 degree heel to the boat was fun. :) > > -Patrick > 1984 C&C Landfall 38 > Seattle, WA >
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