Re-bedding Deck Hatches

ByDavid

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Last Updated on September 10, 2019 by Amy

Even straight from the factory, one of our deck hatches leaked. That meant that early into our cruising life, I learned how to pull out the hatch and re-bed it.

  • Remove the screws in the frame. You might notice that the screws are not all the same. Be sure to keep track of what screws go where.
  • Apply some force to the frame to pull it off of the deck.
  • Clean the deck and the frame. I used a flat-head screwdriver and elbow grease.
  • Go over the frame with acetone and a rag to remove additional residue.
  • Clean the old sealant off the deck with a putty knife and more acetone.
  • Apply a line of 3M Fast cure 4000 UV to the deck edges.
  • Place the hatch frame back onto the deck over the sealant.
  • Put the screws back in – not too tight, as you don’t want all the sealant to come out from between the deck and the frame.
  • Clean up any excess sealant that has spilled out.
  • Let dry!

8 Comments

  1. Amy,
    I am glad you are still enjoying your world travels! I am not sure what brought me back to your blog today after all this time, but it just so happens that I have found a really cool butyl tape that I am using for something COMPELTELY unrelated to boats, but which is designed specifically for what you are up against with your deck hatches. Thought I would share the link. Let me know when y’all end up back in Houston! http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/butyl_tape

    1. Wow, that’s so random! I’m glad to hear from you, I hope things are going well. David has heard of the Butyl tape before, maybe we will add it on our next shopping trip!

  2. Enjoyed the video! Neat to see some of the projects. Maybe because I’ve enjoyed the project stories there’s one thing that’s nagging me. Looks like this is after the hard top went on but I don’t see the boom vang. Didn’t you add that after all or is my timeline off? Anyway keep them coming and enjoy that boat!

    1. You have a good memory Dave! We did add a boom vang, but when we got up to Canada we discovered that the bolts attaching it to the mast and boom had started to sheer off. We think the brackets were sized for a similarly sized monohull and weren’t able to handle the forces generated by a cat. So, the vang is currently sitting in a forepeak locker waiting for us to get appropriately sized brackets.

  3. Been reading/watching your blog from the beginning, great work! I have never owned a catamaran, but I am likly going to be buying a used FP in the near future, so much of this is valuable information for me! Keep up the good work!

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