Foredeck Secure - New Deck Hatch Installed

One of the obvious replacement targets that we spied when we first looked at Harmony was the foredeck hatch.  It was a plastic piece of garbage better meant for a dumpster than a boat.  Besides the fact that it was extremely unseaworthy, it was broken and it leaked.

The cheap and broken foredeck hatch

OK, the foredeck of a Westsail 42 was NOT meant for a hatch.  Given our special below decks configuration, which featured a v-berth, I can fathom a rationale for increased ventilation.  However, said hatch better be seaworthy to keep out any boarding seas the boat will surely take sailing offshore.  Since the prior owner had installed a hatch in the foredeck thereby making restoring the deck to its original form financially impossible, I had to make the situation workable and safe.

Thankfully the plastic hatch was a standard size.  I strolled through the pages of the mega marine catalogs that become so addictive and found a very seaworthy replacement.  We went with a Lewmar Ocean hatch 60 because of its strength, workmanship, and, above all, very high rating for performance in tough conditions.

The Lewmar Ocean 60 hatch on the foredeck

So far this little project was comprised of very easy decisions.  Now, the supposedly super easy part, installation.  Since the hatch sizing was standard, I didn't expect any issue.  So, I allotted about 90 minutes at the end of long day to pull the old one out and "pop" the new one in.  Not to worry, right?  Pop out, pop in, short task at the end of a long day and near sunset....Right!

Well, the old hatch did pop right out.  Well, that is where the easy ended!  The cut-out in the deck was off just enough that I couldn't just pop the new one in.  Out came the jig saw, rasp, and dictionary of works that Mom wouldn't want to hear.  A little cut here, a little rasp there, with a few invectives thrown in for fine tuning, and, walla, the new hatch "popped" right in.

Next, I had to drilled all the through bolt holes. Yeah, I realize the old hatch was just surfaced screwed, but I didn't want this hatch flying off in a storm.  I had now been at this quick little project for 2 hours.  However, I was ready for the final act:  bedding the hatch and bolting in place.

While not standard, The Lewmar will work just fine

After about twice the length of time I estimated, and as darkness was closing in, I tightened the last bolt and prettied-up the bedding compound that had over oozed.  Yeah, it sure looked nice, and it was certainly stronger than the old plastic hatch.  It even worked just like it should.  Above all, it was secure and didn't leak anymore!  Nice!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!