Foreword Opening Hatch

The original hatch that was on the Pearson P30 was a simple fiberglass clam shell type hatch. When I purchased the boat there was some significant delamination at the top of the hatch opening where the hatch met the liner that would need some fixing. I also was not a huge fan of the raw fiberglass hatch and decided to Redesign the hatch.

Using a drill and jig saw i removed a square of material from the hatch. Then using a 3/8" piece of acrylic I made a window to cover this opening. I routed channels into the acrylic that would create seals when using DOW 795. Next using teak I made trim to cover the sealed edges of the window and add a nice touch to the hatch. I routed the edges and sanded the corners round. I also used a chisel to curve the inner edges that would be compressed when the bolts were tighten down sealing the window to prevent the teak from cracking or splintering. A sanding, a fill on the fiberglass section, and a coat of paint followed. Then the original hinge hardware was also sanded and painted. After reassemble I used 3m double sided tape weather sealing to seal the edges of the hatch. For the interior of the hatch I used some aluminum L brackets and more teak to make an inner frame that the hardware to hold the hatch could mount too and cover the sealant.

Overall this is one of my favorite modifications to the original design of the boat as it allows much more light into the main cabin making it feel more open. At some point I will design a screen to fit around the arm that keeps the window open for those hot nights to keep pesky bugs out of the v berth.

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