Hatch Cover Hinges

[Ian Macrae]

I'm enjoying the winter here in the lagoon at Barra de Navidad, fiddling with things on the boat. One of the projects is freeing up the little hatch covers, like the one over the galley or the two ovefhead in the forward pullman berth "stateroom". It is very stiff to open and close. How does one get the rod that holds the top to the bottom of the hatch out? What makes them stiff? Salt? Corrosion? Thanks.

Ian
P40 S/V Freyja 1983

[Steve Binari]

Hi Ian,

 

I think those rods are stainless and the problem is due to the usual stainless to aluminum corrosion. 

 

The rod can been driven out and replaced.  In my case, though, the corrosion was so bad that I had to cut rod in several places before I could drive it out with reasonable force.  I cut the rod in sections with a dremel.  I replaced the rod with an 18-8 rod from McMaster-Carr.  I did this while the hatch was removed for rebedding. 

 

Have fun,

 

Steve

P40

s/v Albireo, #57, 1984

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[Bill Schmidt]

I don't know what makes them seize, but, if not exersized regularly and forced to gargle with WD 40, they can freeze up so bad that the casting breaks. Trust me, I know.
Billy Manana

[rhp...@verizon.net]

Regarding the hatch hinges.  They are solid stainless rods, passing through aluminum frames to make hinges.   I imagine that over the years, the discontinuous metals get angry at eachother.  I cut ours away with a Dremel tool, then punched out the pieces within the aluminum frame.  Replaced with new stainless steel rod coated with Lanacoat.  The hinges have worked well for years.   FYI, while I had the hatches off, I had the Lexan replaced by Maritime Plastics in Annapolis.  Look great!

Bob Peahl

Anthem P40/70

[Ian Macrae]

As usual, Billy is right on.

I just got this in from Brian Atkins, from Atkins & Hoyle hatches:

Good Morning Ian,

Good to hear from you, and happy new year!

 If you want to send a photo of the older hatch, I can confirm. But, 

The process is likely just as you described, though. If it is a hinge rod with a spring, there are no 'retaining bits'. Simply open the hatch to relieve spring of tension, then tap one end of the hinge with a small drift. It may do some good to liberally coat the hinges with penetrating oil a day ahead of time.

Stainless hinge rod will oxidize over time unless cleaned and lubricated. These days, we use a Teflon gel to coat hinges on hatches fresh from the factory. This coating is good for quite a while, but routinely lubricating the hinge with any kind of grease will ensure your new hatch hinge stays fresh for many years. On your new hatch, you likely won't even require a drift - it may just slide out by hand.

If the hinge is truly seized on the older hatches, we have a process here which involves cutting off the hinge rod, and drilling out the hinges. 

Hope this helps!

Brian

 

Atkins & Hoyle Marine Products  -  Est. 1921

[Jon Ash]

Now that I have the hinge loose, how can I get the hatch out to rebed the leaky little critter. I think it must have been installed with 5200. 

Thanks

Jon

P40 Caribbean Soul

 

Ahoy from the boat!

<bill.vcf>

[psherwood]

It's that old dissimilar-metals alchemy thang, in this case stainless
steel / aluminum. My hatch cover hinges seem to benefit from periodic
dousings with Kroil or Corrosion X. PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, or
whatever your favorite penetrating oil/corrosion inhibitor is would no
doubt work equally well.

If you do replace the SS rod, try coating it with Corrosion Block grease
first.

Phil
s/v Cynosure
San Carlos / Seattle

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[psherwood]

Maybe try carefully applied heat on the hatch frame as you carefully
work a sharpened putty knife or a stout razor-blade scraper under it? A
really small butane torch like the palm-sized Ancor one would let you
get quite a bit of heat on a very localized area.

AntiBond 2015 and DeBond Marine Formula are two products that break 5200
without ruining the gelcoat (which MEK will do). Maybe once you get a
blade started you could work a little bit of the debonding stuff in
there with a syringe.

I've used only the former debonding stuff. It works, but it makes a
horrible goopy mess out of the 5200, so have lots of rags or paper
towels and a trash bag at hand.

When you rebed the hatch, consider using butyl tape. Easy to work with,
makes an excellent seal, allows things to come apart later.

Phil
s/v Cynosure
San Carlos / Seattle

On 2/5/2015 09:48, Jon Ash wrote:
> Now that I have the hinge loose, how can I get the hatch out to rebed
> the leaky little critter. I think it must have been installed with 5200.
> Thanks
> Jon
> P40 Caribbean Soul
>
>
>
> Ahoy from the boat!
>
> On Feb 5, 2015, at 12:13 PM, Bill Schmidt <bi...@windwitch.com

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[Don Fife]

Ian
My hatches are the old bronze ones. I was able to use a punch (carefully) to remove the bronze rod. They are about an inch long. If you break one use bronze or brass rod and cut to size. I pulled them all ten years ago to clean and re- gasket. Still work well.

Don

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[Bill Schmidt]

A jack hammer or pile driver may be most helpful. But whatever you use, go very slowly and use patience/perseverance. A bottle of good Scotch may be of most needed.
Billy Manana

[Ian Macrae]

Jon - I got 4 or 5 smallish wood chisels in hand and tapped them with a hammer to drive them between the hatch and the deck until they pried up the hatch a bit. I'd get some of them pounded in to place, and then took a sharp putty knife and used it between the chisels to cut the caulking. It was old black nasty looking stuff, fairly adhesive, but the putty knife just cut through it. Gradually the hatch was worked loose with no harm. All the screws came out just fine, lucky me!

[Ian Macrae]

Phil, I like butyl tape a lot, but chose not to use it here. Since the hatch is just held down with screws, and since it is so big and would let a lot of water through if it was gone, I decided to use something with some adhesive properties. If the 2 foot by 2 foot hatch had been mechanically fastened with through bolts I'd have used butyl. Life Caulk is what I had on hand and this being Mexico nothing else was convenient, so that's what I used. I didn't use Satan's Glue (aka 5200)    Ian

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