[C320-list] Rebedding forward trapezoidal hatch

[Christian]

Mike,
I did this repair a year ago on my 1994 #138.  Mine was leaking from the
aft starboard side corner.  It's a simple repair.

I recommend you remove the entire aluminum hatch frame, and not try to
separate the bottom aluminum frame from the top at the hinge.  I recommend
this because Catalina used an aluminum frame, with stainless steel
fasteners at the hinge, and the fasteners have tapered heads.  Your
fasteners at the hinge on the two frame joints are likely seized, and
attempts to remove them could easily strip them requiring a new frame
purchase (which is still available from CD, but not cheap).

As Brian mentioned, Butyl tape is an option.  Unfortunately, it wasn't an
option for me as the holes in the my deck in the fiberglass that holds the
frame to the deck, some of them had deteriorated/stripped, and unless I
upped the size of my fasteners to the deck, which would require drilling
out the aluminum frame, meaning more work, getting enough compression on at
least one corner of the frame to get a good seal with Butyl tape wasn't an
option.  I have heard from 2 other C320 owners when I made the repair they
had similar problems with Butyl tape, still leaked after the job as they
too couldn't get compression needed to seat the Butyl tape, ultimately
redid the job with caulk, and never had a leak.

I used Boater's Life Caulk, and have had no leak since.

I would recommend buying new stainless fasteners for the job, as your
current ones likely have sealant on them, and that could prevent a good
seal.  They are cheap.  You want stainless.

I would recommend buying a plastic wedge, like an axe chipper wood wedge.
It will GREATLY assist getting your frame off the deck with no damage to
the aluminum frame (they dent easily), as they can be stuck to the deck
pretty good.  I got mine at Home Depot.  Tapped it into a corner of the
frame with a rubber mallet, then started tapping around the frame until it
came off.  Took a little effort, not hard.

I'm not sure if it was factory, or previous owner.  But I had a TON of
silicon glop around the frame area on both the frame and the the deck.  Was
a pain to get off, but I got it very clean.  You want a clean surface to do
the job right.

I have a couple of pics of the repair at:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdnynrKrQNI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

The good news is, at least for me, in that section I had solid core, no
wood, so had no core damage.

Hope this helps, good luck!
Christian 1994 C320 #138 "Canuck" Monroe Harbor, Chicago, IL

On Mon, Jun 12, 2023 at 11:53 AM Mike Mellon via C320-list <
c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:

> I have a small drip-like leak in the forward trapezoidal hatch,
> apparently near the port side aft corner, between the deck and the hatch
> frame.  As far as I can tell, the acrylic lens is not leaking.
>
> I plan to remove the hatch frame from the deck and rebed.  Any comments
> or suggestions on doing this and the curent best sealant to use to rebed?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Mike Mellon
> LaVida, 1996, #324
>
> Santa Cruz, CA
>
>