Sealing a forward hatch

floatingmick · Nov 1, 2020

Hello, I need advice on sealing the forward hatch on my boat. I have stripped the varnish and removed the glass and am now attempting to plan on how to seal the glass. It has always had a terrible seal around the glass, leaking during rain or big seas and has therefore always been covered by canvas. The angulation is about 14 degrees which I believe allowed enough water to sit and work it's way through. My hope is that I can achieve a good enough seal to be able to leave the hatch uncovered. My first thought was a 3m 4200, but I don't think it plays well with glass. The design of the hatch has the glass sitting in a well without mechanical retention. Anyone have any advice on how to seal the glass to the teak frame and finally achieve a waterproof hatch?

I appreciate the help!

Gratuitous picture below.

rgano · Nov 1, 2020

First I would soak the bared wood in CPES. I am not expert in the sealing of glass, but I am sure you will hear from some how are more informed. I hear the words butyl tape bandied about a lot on this topic.

floatingmick · Nov 1, 2020

Thanks! I thought about epoxy, I was thinking of finishing with cetol natural teak and gloss, does epoxy play okay cetol? And I agree that it doesn't look as great, but we have two young kids so work time is limited at this point.

Nomad Willy · Nov 1, 2020

We use SikaFlex 291.
There is another sealer that is known to be compatible w teak. I think the chronic problem is oil ... teak oil. You may benefit from using a teak cleaner where surfaces come together that may leak.

Our teak fwd. hatch is covered most all the time. After attempting to seal it 3 times and still it leaks the cover is’nt so bad.

One could always make a fir hatch cover. And it almost certainly would’nt leak. With cherry stain I would like it.

floatingmick · Nov 2, 2020

What about if I added some sort of mechanical retention to apply constant pressure on the glass, I wonder if I would have better luck with that paired with a sealer rather than an adhesive. I'm picturing some sort of bolt held clamp... I would have to get creative on how to dress it up...

floatingmick · Nov 2, 2020

Maybe something like this:

https://www.rockler.com/glass-retainer

floatingmick said:
What about if I added some sort of mechanical retention to apply constant pressure on the glass, I wonder if I would have better luck with that paired with a sealer rather than an adhesive. I'm picturing some sort of bolt held clamp... I would have to get creative on how to dress it up...

HiDHo · Nov 2, 2020

Your hatch is similar to a butterfly hatch common to wooden boats. I think you could do a search and find information on sealing the glass at those sites. Some cover constructing a hatch and may cover glass sealing.

Comodave · Nov 2, 2020

I used Sika 291 3 years ago to seal the teak toerail to the fiberglass deck. I used their primer first on the teak because I wanted it to stick and last. Primer was $80 and goes bad after a year on the shelf but it did work. So far there hasn’t been any that has come loose.

Anniesez · Nov 2, 2020

I have a forward hatch made of teak with a cast acrylic lens that was leaking badly. The lens also had no mechanical fastening. After following some discussions on wood boat forums , it seemed to come down to a Sikaflex product or Dow Corning 795 adhesive sealant. The Sikaflex required 2 different primers for the teak and the acrylic, and the Dow did not require any primer so I went with that. Three years now, no leaks. YMMV

koliver · Nov 2, 2020

floatingmick said:
Hello, I need advice on sealing the forward hatch on my boat. I have stripped the varnish and removed the glass and am now attempting to plan on how to seal the glass. It has always had a terrible seal around the glass, leaking during rain or big seas and has therefore always been covered by canvas. The angulation is about 14 degrees which I believe allowed enough water to sit and work it's way through. My hope is that I can achieve a good enough seal to be able to leave the hatch uncovered. My first thought was a 3m 4200, but I don't think it plays well with glass. The design of the hatch has the glass sitting in a well without mechanical retention. Anyone have any advice on how to seal the glass to the teak frame and finally achieve a waterproof hatch?

I appreciate the help!

Gratuitous picture below.View attachment 109502 View attachment 109503

I have three hatches identical to yours. I recently replaced a broken pane of glass in one. I used Sika 291 to seal the glass and it doesn't leak.

Sealing a forward hatch

floatingmick

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rgano

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floatingmick

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Nomad Willy

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floatingmick

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floatingmick

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HiDHo

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Comodave

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Anniesez

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koliver

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