If there was ever a time to make sure you’ve got it right, it is now! There’s no do-over when cutting the hatches. It’s slicing a hole in a perfectly good boat. The cut out needs to fit right back where it came from so there’s very little room for fudging. Sanding and filling won’t help here.
I used the small hatch from my Night Heron to cut the template and tried to line up the cuts so it flowed with rest of the boat. I marked the boat with alignment lines then taped the surface to protect the finish. I then re-traced the form on the tape and was ready to go.
I used a drill bit the same thickness as the jigsaw blade and drilled a series of holes on the line. I then used a knife to connect the holes creating a small slot for the jigsaw blade.
Following the lines was tricky, the saw wanted to wander and I’m not sure it didn’t. But I kept it close.
Scary but I got it done.
Next came the lip for the hatch. The lid needs a lip to keep it flush but it also needs some sort of sealing to keep water out.
I cut 3/4″ strips of plywood and epoxied all to protect the wood from water. I then cut and fit the strips just under the lip of the hole. I failed to get any pictures of the strips but you can see view the process to clamp the strips to the underside in the pictures.
Next comes second lip that will be under the first lip. It will extend 3/4″ past the lip. The weatherstripping will sit on it the and give the lid support. I’ll have more details in the next post.