Companionway Hatch

[Tom Line]

Well, as sometimes happens, a crewmember stepped on my companionway hatch and the corner of it shattered. S2 is still answering their email, so just FYI, from S2 Yachts:

Good Afternoon:
Yes, we can still make the c'way hatch (the lexan piece only, we cannot do the stainless rail). Lead time is approximately 3 to 4 weeks from date of order, price $400.00. Please let us know if you would like to order; we accept MC, Visa, Amex, and Discover.

Best Regards,
S2 Sailboat Support

[dave]

Any plastics shop should be able to make the custom replacement for a lot less than that, and it wouldn't take 4 weeks. Or, you can buy a blank section of Lexan and do it at home. The stuff is pretty easy to work with, if you have the right tools.

Dave

[grandillusion]

yes try your local plastics place, but be prepaired for at least 400 or more, mine is not broken just crazed and I want it in bronze lexan, so I got a quote from the local place here in MI of 450 - $500, maby in a couple years and I'm going to shop around a couple different places, if you have access to a pizza oven turned WAY down, a router ( for the edges) and a little anbition, give it a shot

[Spike Boston]

Hi, I'm in need of the plexiglass plate that goes over the keel.
Does anyone know where I can get one. It is white and is 3/8" thick.
538
&
264

[tpf]

This has been on my list for a few seasons - The covers were broken when I bought the boat and we never missed them till last year.

My crew steped in the hole once - not bad but could have been and last year we were running down wind and when my crew raised the board we found a very tired duck sitting on the keel. My crew lifted it out and it went on it's way but we don't want it to happen again.

Special care is required to drill plexiglass without cracking it, if you can have it done by someone experienced it will probably make your life easier.

[Pete]

Mine too is in need of replacement. The forward corners have broken. So, did a little research and found that what you DO NOT want to use is Lexan as it does not stand up to ultra violet light and so deteriorates fairly quickly with exposure to the sun(confirmd by local supplier). Also, cost is very high. Plexiglas is the recommended material.
I priced out the material in dark tint plexiglas and the material alone was over $300 Canadian and the original spec clear was less than $100 Cdn. which I bought. Supplier could not do the bending although he did say temperatures to do so need to be in excess of 400 deg F. I bought the clear material and will give the bending business a try this winter.

[dave]

All, I'm not trying to open a can of worms, just stating a fact. Our main hatch has some hairline cracks in it, near the runners. I had the thought to laminate a 4-5 carbon fiber strips to the under side, 1" wide, going from the one side [edge to edge] to the other, to address the tension loads across the hatch that are trsnsfered to the edges when the top of the hatch is compressed. This would be easy and cheap, apparently a LOT cheaper than getting a replacement hatch. My worry is that the class rules may not allow the use of carbon fiber in the boat, although I haven't been able to find that wording. Then again, I'm not a sea lawyer. Maybe one of you class officers can fill me in.

Thanks,
Dave

[tpf]

As long as CF is not used to gain a competitive advantage there should be no restriction.

[dave]

Thanks for the quick reply. It strikes me as more than odd that carbon fiber is legal in the sails and one can use any type of halyard material [5/16" Pobon, $4.63 per foot], but yet the use of CF in the other parts of the boat is open to the "competitive advantage" trap. The reason that some folks are willing to spend more money on higher tech sails or halyards than the next person is SPECIFICALLY to get a competitive advantage, but that's legal ! Hypothetically speaking, using CF to repair/reinforce the rudder head to blade area [a very weak point] would be the smartest, quickest, strongest way to address the problem, at a minimul exspense. Any infinitesimal performance gain that might be realized by having a stiffer rudder head would pale in comparison to the gains in "competitive advantage" one would get by spending $1,000 on Pobon halyards and $$$$ on CF reinforced sails. Yet the latter is legal and the former is open to interpretation.

Dave

[Jeffrey]

As rules chair, I can say that we really try hard to keep a spirit of competitivness but not taking a microscope to everything. For example; (talking about carbon fibre), my rudder broke in half a few yrs ago and I had it repaired using carbon fibre, (it still gained 4 lbs), but falls in the weight catagory for the rudder and housing. This is legal. But, had I replaced it with a carbon fibre rudder, now, we are outside the weight limit and spirit of our rules. (although one could add weight to the support housing to make it legal)

So we try hard to keep it simple and allow people to race!

Jeff Mootz, Skyhawk #250

[dave]

That sounds great, I was hoping for that kind of clarification. As you stated, just because something's made from CF doesn't have to mean it's light. Adding weight does the trick. I have an MC Scow. With the modern vacume infusion building techniques the boat come out to much less than the class legal 420 lbs, so they just add lead.

Thanks,
Dave

[Stef]

As far as the centerboard covers go, you can use polycarbonate (Lexan is a trade name), it is available in UV resistant. You need to be careful when drilling the holes near the edge, it not recommended by any polycarbonate manufacturer but it can be done. I replaced mine with 3/8 thick aluminum plate that I powdercoated white, down fall is you cant see in the trunk. I marked my line so I know exactly where the board is if I pull it up. It's been 3 years and it looks as good as it did the day I put it in.

[Tom Line]

Ok. I spent some time at my local plastics place (they regularly make replacement windshields for powerboats - curved and non-curved).

They said jump on the $400 price from S2. They claim - and I've confirmed it elsewhere, that they need to make a mold then heat the lexan / plexi in an oven for a certain amount of time to get the uniform bend that we've got.

They quoted me $674 to replace it.

As for the top of the daggerboard - if you don't mind it being opaque go get some starboard in the correct thickness. It is stablized plastic that is not affected by sunlight. It does not crack when it is drilled, and it weathers extremely well.

Finally, with regards to drilling lexan and plexiglass, you should purchase speicall drill bits. They have a much sharper entry angle to prevent cracking. You can sharpen your own drill bits the same way if you have a grinder and an old set of bits.

[LarryE-old]

I repaired the corners of my hatch, several times. Did this by milling out the broken areas and inserting new pieces, with allen screws.
Then I saw that the crew stepping on the hatch, caused the corners to break. This is caused by the front of the hatch being unsupported. Solved the problem by getting a piece of lexan, 1 inch thick, and with a belt sander, shaping it to fit, under the hatch. I screwed it to the hatch with small SS allen screws. Now the front is supported, no nore broken corners.

[Spike Boston]

I notice that several 7.9's are in need of new copanionway hatches.
Frequent flyer and I believe Rebel also need one.
Does anyone think it would be worth while to get a group purchase from S2 and maybe get a break on the cost?
We would prefer the smoke
Spike