[C320-list] Bomar hatch

[Christian]

Ted,
I replaced my Bromar lens on my salon hatch last fall.  It's fairly
straight forward.

I bought my replacement lens and sealant from Catalina Direct.  I opted not
to replace the gasket at the time.  In hindsight, I wish I would have as
the gasket is best replaced when you put the new sealant in.

I think the job is best done off the boat.  So you'll need to remove the
top hatch from the bottom hatch.  Remove the screws on the hinge.  But be
careful doing so, as 2 of mine were badly seized and one of the two was
completely frozen.  Had to drill them out.  If you removed the screws
mounting the bottom batch to the deck, it will have to be rebedded.  I used
a piece of cardboard wrapped in 2 layers of trash bags and taped it down to
seal the opening while replacing lens.  We had some good rain for the week+
time it was off, along with a little snow.  Held like a champ.

Just cut the lens out of the sealant with a sharp blade, but mind those
fingers.  Then scrape every possible bit of old sealant out!  Curing new
sealant takes about 2 days.  I used the Catalina Direct instructions of
using the back side of a spoon to smooth the sealant, and got a very clean,
smooth edge on my sealant.  Just tape up your frame well before hand, and
it will REALLY make the job look better in the end.

Budget 2 hours to remove top hatch.  1-2 hours to cut out lens.  3-4 hours
to remove old sealant.  2 hours to set new lens with new sealant.  2 days
to cure.  1 hour to remount.

Strongly suggest anti seize on your hatch screws when you put it back in.
My screws were stainless, the hatch is aluminum, so, dissimilar metals.

If you'd like to see some pics of my steps, I have them at:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb5U6a0DNCv/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb5VYpPjtyN/

Note, each link has series of pics, hovering over image will give you
arrows to see the other pics in the series.

Let me know if you have any questions, happy to help where I can.

Christian Caperton
1994 C320 "Canuck" #138
Monroe Harbor, Chicago, IL

On Fri, Mar 23, 2018 at 6:55 PM, John morrison <sail-ability at sympatico.ca>
wrote:

> Ted I just removed the centre hatch on my boat as it was also leaking, I’m
> buying a new lens from Fort Glass, as the old one had several cracks in it.
> I’m also going thicker, 10mm, as the 1/4” lens is not strong enough in my
> opinion. I took the hatch right off the boat and cut around the lens into
> the caulking with a box cutter; it then came out fairly easily and then I
> scraped out the rest of the caulk. I’m going to use dow Corning 795 which
> Catalina recommends.
> Regards
> JohnM
> > On Mar 23, 2018, at 6:42 PM, Ted Harrison <tharrison at innovations-plus.
> com> wrote:
> >
> > This hatch is located at the bow of the boat and leaks. I have remove
> the hatch and have it home.
> >
> > It looks like the lens just sits on this rubber gasket. They have
> separated on one corner and down about 10 inches in each direction.   No
> wonder it leaks.
> >
> > How do I pull the lens completely off and re-seal? With what product ?
> >
> > Thanks for your help.
> >
> > Hull 424
> > Whitby On
> >
> > Ted Harrison
>
>