Deck Hatch Replacement Advice

Florida Mike

Florida Mike

New Member
Dec 4, 2022
15
Palatka, FL
Boat Info
Sea Ray 340 Express Cruiser -
Engines
7.4 L Mercruiser
Straight Line drives
I want to replace the hatches on 340 Express Cruiser, but I am overwhelmed by the variety of choices available on the market. Not to mention the difference in sizes and measurements. Is the there a location (publication / website / phone number / commercial company with experts etc...) that lists the specs for each individual Sea Ray and the what the replacement sizes should be or do you just measure twice and order once?
 
Florida Mike said:
I want to replace the hatches on 340 Express Cruiser, but I am overwhelmed by the variety of choices available on the market. Not to mention the difference in sizes and measurements. Is the there a location (publication / website / phone number / commercial company with experts etc...) that lists the specs for each individual Sea Ray and the what the replacement sizes should be or do you just measure twice and order once?
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I’m curious why you want to replace them? Are they broken? I removed mine, re-bedded them, re-sealed the actual hatch then repaired the (not sure what to call them) opening/holding arms. I think I spent about 50.00 doing it myself. WestMarine, FP and eBay have the parts and seals. Mine are TaylorMade 12x12 over the dinette and galley and 18x18 over the V-Berth, gasket around the glass is cut to length.

My .02
Jon
 
GirlyGirl1999 said:
I’m curious why you want to replace them? Are they broken? I removed mine, re-bedded them, re-sealed the actual hatch then repaired the (not sure what to call them) opening/holding arms. I think I spent about 50.00 doing it myself. WestMarine, FP and eBay have the parts and seals. Mine are TaylorMade 12x12 over the dinette and galley and 18x18 over the V-Berth, gasket around the glass is cut to length.

My .02
Jon
Click to expand...
I'm getting a leak through one, it was sealed with some sort of silicone to keep it from leaking. I never thought about pulling and just replacing the parts and resealing it. After some of the prices on these hatches I might just give it a try and see how it goes. Cant be rocket science.
 
Florida Mike said:
I'm getting a leak through one, it was sealed with some sort of silicone to keep it from leaking. I never thought about pulling and just replacing the parts and resealing it. After some of the prices on these hatches I might just give it a try and see how it goes. Cant be rocket science.
Click to expand...
I learned a lot from this guy Paul on “Boating with BoogaBoo” on youtube. He goes through it a couple of times. Mine leaked around the frame and the glass, now all good.

Edit, my only advice is get at least 2 quarts of acetone, it’s your friend.
Jon
 
GirlyGirl1999 said:
I learned a lot from this guy Paul on “Boating with BoogaBoo” on youtube. He goes through it a couple of times. Mine leaked around the frame and the glass, now all good.

Edit, my only advice is get at least 2 quarts of acetone, it’s your friend.
Jon
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I know that channel!!! Ill look for the video.
 
If you have resealed the hatch, the only other places for leaks are the glass itself or the handles. Sometimes just tightening the screw in the handle will stop a leak.
 
+1 on removing, cleaning up, and rebedding. I've done it on many boats (not just classic SRVs). What generally happens, is that years of solar exposure, and thermal cycling of the hull and hatch frames eventually causes the gaskets and sealants to lose grip. Disassembling, cleaning it all up, and rebedding them is not only an easy task, its something you'd be doing to install a new hatch anyway, and a new hatch will frequently mean you need to re-cut the hole to fit some 'new standard'. The old ones are really well made, and clean up nicely.
 
All - thanks for the information. After a through cleaning and some new soft material she's as good as new. Best part of it all, didn't drop $1300 on new hatch's but rather $65 on some rubber and marine calking.
 
If the lexan is in need of replacement I got mine from ePlastics on line. They cut it to size, all I did was drill for the handle
 
Florida Mike said:
All - thanks for the information. After a through cleaning and some new soft material she's as good as new. Best part of it all, didn't drop $1300 on new hatch's but rather $65 on some rubber and marine calking.
Click to expand...
Good deal - most of the time, reseal is the way to go.

You didn't use 3M 4200 or 5200, did you? Hopefully not!
 
Lazy Daze said:
Good deal - most of the time, reseal is the way to go.

You didn't use 3M 4200 or 5200, did you? Hopefully not!
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity whats wrong with those particular 3M products?
 
Aiden said:
Out of curiosity whats wrong with those particular 3M products?
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You'll never be able to remove that hatch again without destroying it. Plus a first rate mess to clean up. Butyl Rubber sealant is your friend. It's a pretty small list of things I use 4000 or 5200 on.
 
Aiden said:
Out of curiosity whats wrong with those particular 3M products?
Click to expand...
Like TT said, they're just too strong - they're primarily an adhesive - and this is not what you want in this application. They're excellent products, but they really have limited use. Some may say that they sealed it "forever"... well, no, that never happens :) Besides, what if the hatch gets damaged and is in need of replacement? Yeah, there are things you can do... but it's just not worth it when the proper SEALANT will do just as good of a job.

Butyl rubber is definitely the king for applications like this. However, a properly applied (let to set up a bit) bead of marine sealant will still do an excellent job.
 
+1 to you guys, I used just regular Lowes window RTV non hardening sealant, I am not in salt so it’s just to keep the rain out.
 
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