Replacement for Gray Enterprises hatch

scrumper

scrumper

Active Member
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Jul 10, 2020
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Boat Info
1981 310 Vanguard Express
Engines
Twin Mercruiser 6.2 MPI Horizon FWC inboards
The saloon roof hatch on my '81 310 EC is marked "Gray Enterprises" - it needs replacing. Any ideas what a matching equivalent would be?

Outside dimensions are 22 1/2" square; I can't measure the actual cutout size without pulling the hatch which is pretty terminal. But I think it's around 19 3/4" to 19 15/16"

Gray got bought by "Pompanette" and they don't seem to make roof hatches anymore, just port lights.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
Thanks Jim - The Bowmar 900 even looks a bit like it with the moulded exterior frame.

Oh balls... corner radius. Forgot to measure that.

I'm guessing it's much easier to make a cutout bigger than to fill it in to make it smaller? How important is a really tight fit?
 
No doubt it would be better to have to make the cutout bigger. I'm sure there would be some wiggle room with the hatch... as long as the frame covers the cutout enough for a good bead of sealant, you should OK on the outside. Inside will depend on how your overhead is made. Again, the inside framing will cover small amounts of rough edges.
 
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These hatches are pretty much a commodity. All are similar in construction and design. They are easily removable and straightforward to install. Bomar is a good quality hatch. One word of caution is to epoxy the rough edges in the openings when you remove exiting hatches and resize any opening areas. Using caulk to seal them is not good enough to prevent water instruction into the balsa core. Once you have the opening size right and the fit is what you are looking for, use some West Systems epoxy to saturate the edges and make them waterproof. When that has cured, use 4200 to caulk the new hatches into place. I'll look for some pix of when I did this project on my boat and post them later if I locate them.
 
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These pix, while not the best, show the rough edges of an opening for a hatch. Also, the replacement hatches and the sun shade with screen are shown. The pic of the opening shows some caulk around the rough edges from the factory install. The headliner is hanging down in that pic and will be covered by a flange when the sun shade is installed after the hatch goes in.
 
Aha thanks. I'm looking at a couple sixteenths of uncertainty, no more than that, so the big exterior flange of the Vetus should cover it. Inside I plan to fit a trim flange which will cover some sins there too, with some ancient monkey fur hiding the rest.

The Vetus looks to be the best fit. Defender's prices are brilliant compared to WM - thanks very much for the steer there Jim.

sbw1 - that is REALLY helpful thank you very much for the photos and advice.
 
Oh sbw1 - just saw your lovely Tiara. That is a ridiculously nice boat, and great engines too. How is she?

My dream upgrade is a 4000 Express... but for now, my Vanguard is perfectly sized for my young family and I'm not entirely convinced I want to work hard enough to pay for a Tiara :)
 
scrumper said:
Oh sbw1 - just saw your lovely Tiara. That is a ridiculously nice boat, and great engines too. How is she?

My dream upgrade is a 4000 Express... but for now, my Vanguard is perfectly sized for my young family and I'm not entirely convinced I want to work hard enough to pay for a Tiara :)
Click to expand...
He actually sold it, but in his mind he still owns it :)
 
scrumper said:
Oh sbw1 - just saw your lovely Tiara. That is a ridiculously nice boat, and great engines too. How is she?

My dream upgrade is a 4000 Express... but for now, my Vanguard is perfectly sized for my young family and I'm not entirely convinced I want to work hard enough to pay for a Tiara :)
Click to expand...
IMG_5409.JPG

Thank you. The new owner is enjoying her and taking good care of her. Where did you see her?
 
Your first post in this thread had a photo of a 30-ish foot Tiara in the snow, I assumed that was her? (When I said “just saw” I meant in your post above :) )
 
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