[C320-list] Resealing Salon hatch - followup

[Scott Thompson]

Jeff, "ribbon of putty" is exactly how I would describe the sealant I 
had to remove when I rebedded my hatches quite a few years ago. The grey 
putty had dried out and shrunk to the point that it no longer sealed. I 
am the second owner of Surprise, but I suspect the putty was factory 
original and no more than 5-6 years old when I had to replace it. The 
foam hatch tape (impregnated with sealant, rectangular cross section) 
that I purchased from Bomar has not admitted any water over a longer 
period of ownership.

Scott

On 4/8/2016 8:27 PM, Jeff Hare wrote:
> After re-reading my message, When I said:  "I really don't see the stuff we used being sold anymore.",  I was referring to the foam hatch tape that we used on our forward Bomar hatch many years ago, not the Butyl tape.  For the Salon and Aft cabin hatches, we used the roll of Butyl tape (which is like a ribbon of putty).
>
> -Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Hare
> Sent: Friday, April 8, 2016 4:27 PM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Resealing Salon hatch
>
> Hi Daryl,
>
> We re-bedded our main salon a while back.  We actually used Butyl Tape from: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/butyl_tape
>
> Since our boat has an identical hatch in the aft cabin, we did them both at the same time and SWAPPED the two units.  So, the main hatch which was a bit crazed by the sun was now clear and the crazing doesn't show up in the aft cabin anyway.  Took me about 2 hours to do the whole job.  Most of the work was cleaning off the old sealant.
>
> I really don't see the stuff we used being sold anymore.  The product you refer to is not like the material we used.  What we used was a rectangular foam that was a little like neoprene with an adhesive back.  It's my recollection that it doesn't store well (got really gooey) and that may indicate how it behaves on the boat over time...
>
> If you want to use the foam tape and can find it,  you may want to try to join the ends at the AFT side of the main cabin hatch with a long diagonal overlapping cut.  The aft cabin, make sure to have the joint where the two ends of the tape meet at the bottom edge of the hatch.
>
> I'd say the Butyl Tape is a bit more work (because of how sticky it is) but should last much longer than you're likely to have the boat.  Even if you don't use it, you should read the pbase.com blog above on bedding hardware.  Well worth the read!  The up side is that you can store the Butyl tape for years and use little bits of it as needed over time.  We just use some last year to rebed all our chainplates and we'd been storing it for several years.
>
> Cheers!
> -Jeff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Daryl Hunt
> Sent: Friday, April 8, 2016 3:05 PM
> To: C320-List at catalina320.com
> Subject: [C320-list] Resealing Salon hatch
>
> I've read through all of the threads relating to getting rid of leaks in the main salon overhead hatch.  I'd like to try the Bomar foam hatch tape that's been recommended by Jeff Hare and others. Defender has Bomar Hatch Gasket Material <http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1%7C6880%7C2290165&id=834163> (Item
> # : 900063) 9/16" diameter with self-adhesive tape at $6.99/ft.   Is
> this the right stuff?  Thanks!