Front deck hatch with vent

[Pascal]

i agree about the sliding doors !!! I love my teak doors tothe aft deck.

about the hatch, i think it's part of the boat, i don't think a modern hatch would look good there on that foredeck. The vent is nice to get a little air in but i dont' like the orangy semi transparent material on the forward half, I've been thinking about replacing it with lexan...

about the weight, how about adding some gas struts ? that shoudl work...

[Liquid Asset]

I have been looking to do this since we bought our boat. My front hatch on my sportfish leaks when we get in a heavy sea, and I keep the a/c on, so I dont want the hot Florida air getting in. I put duct tape on the back side of the vent and ti has been there for 2 years, but it is ugly. I would love to find a glass hatch that fit, but I dont know how you could install it and make it look good since the fiberglass ones are designed to go over a lip that is molded in.

I would just like to have a flat hatch up there like the rest of my hatches. No vent.

[SKYCHENEY]

I have thought about cutting out the center and adding a piece of Lexan, but how do you hold it in there? It would need some sort of frame and it has to be strong. People will be stepping on this. I'd be happy with just an original Hatteras hatch like we had on the 43DC.

Angela,
I find it hard to believe that the sliding door on your boat is original. How do you know this? Even if you saw it on more than one 58, it could still have been a mod that was just popular at some yard. I don't recall seeing any brochures from that era with a slider.

[Angela]

Sky,

Every 58MY I saw had it. And if you look on the archived brochure on Sam's website, second page of the brochure, there it is!

[SKYCHENEY]

Sky,

Every 58MY I saw had it. And if you look on the archived brochure on Sam's website, second page of the brochure, there it is!

Wow, that's crazy. I wonder why all of the other MY's had the double doors and the 58MY had that. I guess I just learned something new.

[doc g]

Sky, I think that if you went to 1/2" Lexan it would be fine with people walking on it. That's another reason I did not cut the sccop totally of mine,as it is no one seems to step on it....................................Pat

[SKYCHENEY]

Sky, I think that if you went to 1/2" Lexan it would be fine with people walking on it. That's another reason I did not cut the sccop totally of mine,as it is no one seems to step on it....................................Pat

Pat,
I wasn't questioning the integrity of the Lexan, but rather the way it would be attached to the remaining part of the hatch.

[garyd]

Do not use lexan! Wrong application. You would have to get a solar grade which is hard to come by in 1/2" or it will yellow fast. Second it is great for impact by terrible for scratching it would be so scratched up in a year you would hate it.

Use acrylic a good quality at least 1/2 inch thick install it by conventional means but allow space around any fasteners fill the space with acrylic adhesive caulk. If you clean it carfefully it will look good for years. It is also uv stable. It comes in several different colors or tints as well.

We are in the top five users of lexan in the state of Florida and use acrylic as well.

garyd

[Angela]

Wow, that's crazy. I wonder why all of the other MY's had the double doors and the 58MY had that. I guess I just learned something new.

I do want the double doors like the other Hatts have. That sliding door is just butt-ugly on a boat. This will be a future project for Starman one day.

[doc g]

I was going to cut out the center of the existing hatch and leave a flange about 1.5-2" around the perimeter ie., the horizontal flat part where the seal is and then bed the Lexan/Acrylic to it using 4200. So no screws to leak..........Pat