deck hatches
 

I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60 or
a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch. They are both the same size (they're
both the same size) The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the Houdini
6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper and I quite like the idea of
toughened glass, but is toughened glass likely to shatter into little
squares if it's walloped by a clew or similar object

deck hatches
 

Nigel wrote:

I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60
or a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch.

There's also Gebo. I've recently replaced a Lewmar 60 (I think it's a
60 - approx hole size 50x50cm) with a Gebo from Seateach for £237.

They are both the same size (they're both the same size)

Something tells me they might be the same size.

The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the Houdini
6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper

My Lewmar was of the older "roll-stop" design. I replaced it because
the perspex had cracked, as a result of the Lewmar's design feature
that the click-stops only go as far as 90 degrees. If you push open
beyond straight-up, it just falls fully open, unbraked, onto whatever
happens to be lying on deck at the time, such as the anchor. :-(

You can have my broken Lewmar if you like, and if you want to see if
you can pop the perspex out of its frame and source a replacement, and
drill holes for the handles and transfer them.

You can have it for £0 plus postage.

deck hatches
 

Nigel wrote:
I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60 or
a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch. They are both the same size (they're
both the same size) The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the Houdini
6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper and I quite like the idea of
toughened glass, but is toughened glass likely to shatter into little
squares if it's walloped by a clew or similar object


Yes. Glass breaks, perspex scratches and goes foggy. That's the choice.

deck hatches
 

If reglazing an existing hatch is an option, i'd strongly favor reglazing
with polycarbonate (such as Lexan). It won't weather as well as acrylic or
glass but it will be much less likely to fail in an impact. For a deck
hatch, where failure might endanger the vessel, i'd put safety first.

"Nigel" wrote in message
...
I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60
or
a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch. They are both the same size (they're
both the same size) The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the Houdini
6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper and I quite like the idea of
toughened glass, but is toughened glass likely to shatter into little
squares if it's walloped by a clew or similar object

deck hatches
 

"Jim Conlin" wrote in message
...
If reglazing an existing hatch is an option, i'd strongly favor reglazing
with polycarbonate (such as Lexan). It won't weather as well as acrylic
or
glass but it will be much less likely to fail in an impact. For a deck
hatch, where failure might endanger the vessel, i'd put safety first.

It's slightly off topic, but I carry some plywood cut-outs to act as
emergency hatch closers in the event of a hatch or window breaking while at
sea. As you say, a hatch failure could threaten the boat and it could be
difficult to make one up in a hurry when offshore. It also means you always
have a useful bit of ply around if needed for other things, and they're easy
to stow as they are small and flat enough to sit at the bottom of a locker.

deck hatches
 

Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Jim Conlin" wrote

For a deck hatch, where failure might endanger the vessel, i'd put
safety first.

It's slightly off topic, but I carry some plywood cut-outs to act as
emergency hatch closers in the event of a hatch or window breaking

How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex were
to break?

Pete

deck hatches
 

"Pete Verdon" d wrote in
message ...
Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Jim Conlin" wrote

For a deck hatch, where failure might endanger the vessel, i'd put
safety first.

It's slightly off topic, but I carry some plywood cut-outs to act as
emergency hatch closers in the event of a hatch or window breaking

How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex were
to break?

Pete
Mine are fashioned on the assumption that the whole of the hinged opening
part, frame and all, has gone (or is folded flat), and simply blanks off the
opening.

deck hatches
 

Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Pete Verdon" d wrote

How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex were
to break?

Mine are fashioned on the assumption that the whole of the hinged opening
part, frame and all, has gone (or is folded flat), and simply blanks off the
opening.

Right, but how do you plan to secure it in place?

I'm not trying to nitpick, by the way, I'm just curious.

Pete

deck hatches
 

Nigel,
Houdini sells these with polycarbonate as well, but they are junk. If all
you want to do is stay tied up, they are probably OK. I dropped 1500 pounds
Sterling on 2 companionway hatches a while back. These were sliders. No
matter how I installed them, they stuck and would never slide well. They
scratched and they leaked. I threw them away in the end and designed and
built my own out of stainless and armor glass.

Please do not confuse the different categories of glass. There are many and
they go by different names in different countries. Automotive glass in the
UK is called toughened glass. This glass is heat treated and cooled quickly.
This leaves the glass very hard and highly stressed. This is the wrong stuff
to use as hatches. It is also called plate glass. In the UK the glass you
need is armor glass. This glass is also heat treated but the process used
causes the glass to be stress relieved and it is delivered in an annealed
state. It is most commonly laminated with plastic in between panes of glass
for bullet proofing. It can be found up to 12mm thick. I use it 10mm thick
unlaminated. It is very scratch resistant. It doesn't fade and you can
literally beat on it with a hammer and bow it under severe load and it
doesn't break. It is the best, but it isn't cheap.

One responder mentioned Gebo Hatches. Even though they are made in France,
they are very good. I have 13 in use. They do not leak and parts are readily
available.
Steve


"Nigel" wrote in message
...
I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60
or a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch. They are both the same size (they're
both the same size) The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the Houdini
6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper and I quite like the idea of
toughened glass, but is toughened glass likely to shatter into little
squares if it's walloped by a clew or similar object

deck hatches
 

Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Jim Conlin" wrote in message
...

If reglazing an existing hatch is an option, i'd strongly favor reglazing
with polycarbonate (such as Lexan). It won't weather as well as acrylic
or
glass but it will be much less likely to fail in an impact. For a deck
hatch, where failure might endanger the vessel, i'd put safety first.


It's slightly off topic, but I carry some plywood cut-outs to act as
emergency hatch closers in the event of a hatch or window breaking while at
sea. As you say, a hatch failure could threaten the boat and it could be
difficult to make one up in a hurry when offshore. It also means you always
have a useful bit of ply around if needed for other things, and they're easy
to stow as they are small and flat enough to sit at the bottom of a locker.



Good idea!

deck hatches
 

Pete Verdon wrote:
Duncan Heenan wrote:

"Pete Verdon" d wrote


How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex
were to break?


Mine are fashioned on the assumption that the whole of the hinged
opening part, frame and all, has gone (or is folded flat), and simply
blanks off the opening.


Right, but how do you plan to secure it in place?

I'm not trying to nitpick, by the way, I'm just curious.

Pete
The way we do it with portlight emergency covers is with a long bolt (or
two) and a wing nut reaching inside to a wooden bar that goes across the
hole like a damage control plate.

deck hatches -- glass
 

Terms here in the colonies are somewhat different.

Plate glass is made by flowing the molten glass onto a (preheated) iron
slab. It is the truest, flattest, available; but hasn't been made for
decades. What one gets now is "float glass" made by flowing the glass onto
a (shallow) puddle of mercury. It's almost as flat, but not optical grade.

The heat treated and pre-stressed stuff for automobiles is "tempered" glass.
The idea is to avoid the great shards that are generated when plate glass is
broken. (My 1933 Ford had plate glass. I'm glad no one was seated in the
back seat when I rolled it.)

Anyone interested in glass should visit the Corning museum in Corning, NY.
Besides duplicates of the various presidential gifts made over the years,
they have ALL species of glass on display.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Steve Lusardi" wrote in message
...
Nigel,
Houdini sells these with polycarbonate as well, but they are junk. If all
you want to do is stay tied up, they are probably OK. I dropped 1500
pounds Sterling on 2 companionway hatches a while back. These were
sliders. No matter how I installed them, they stuck and would never slide
well. They scratched and they leaked. I threw them away in the end and
designed and built my own out of stainless and armor glass.

Please do not confuse the different categories of glass. There are many
and they go by different names in different countries. Automotive glass in
the UK is called toughened glass. This glass is heat treated and cooled
quickly. This leaves the glass very hard and highly stressed. This is the
wrong stuff to use as hatches. It is also called plate glass. In the UK
the glass you need is armor glass. This glass is also heat treated but the
process used causes the glass to be stress relieved and it is delivered in
an annealed state. It is most commonly laminated with plastic in between
panes of glass for bullet proofing. It can be found up to 12mm thick. I
use it 10mm thick unlaminated. It is very scratch resistant. It doesn't
fade and you can literally beat on it with a hammer and bow it under
severe load and it doesn't break. It is the best, but it isn't cheap.

One responder mentioned Gebo Hatches. Even though they are made in France,
they are very good. I have 13 in use. They do not leak and parts are
readily available.
Steve


"Nigel" wrote in message
...
I need to buy a new deck hatch. The choice seems to be either a Lewmar 60
or a Houdini super 50 foredeck hatch. They are both the same size
(they're both the same size) The Lewmar has Perspex (12mm I think) and the
Houdini 6mm toughen glass. Houdini are a lot cheaper and I quite like the
idea of toughened glass, but is toughened glass likely to shatter into
little squares if it's walloped by a clew or similar object

deck hatches
 

Or just drill two holes in the panel, pass a line thru, caulk at the holes,
and then tie it to the stick underneath. Easier to stow. (Twist stick to
tighten.)

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Gary" wrote in message
news:AZPef.521939$tl2.488306@pd7tw3no...
Pete Verdon wrote:
Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Pete Verdon" d wrote
How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex
were to break?

Mine are fashioned on the assumption that the whole of the hinged
opening part, frame and all, has gone (or is folded flat), and simply
blanks off the opening.

Right, but how do you plan to secure it in place?
The way we do it with portlight emergency covers is with a long bolt (or
two) and a wing nut reaching inside to a wooden bar that goes across the
hole like a damage control plate.

deck hatches -- glass
 

On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 02:13:09 UTC, "Roger Derby"
wrote:

The heat treated and pre-stressed stuff for automobiles is "tempered" glass.

That's what we call "toughened" over here - it can be either heat
toughened or chemically toughened.

ian

deck hatches
 

"Pete Verdon" d wrote in
message ...
Duncan Heenan wrote:
"Pete Verdon" d wrote

How would you fix the forehatch board in place if the glass/perspex were
to break?

Mine are fashioned on the assumption that the whole of the hinged opening
part, frame and all, has gone (or is folded flat), and simply blanks off
the opening.

Right, but how do you plan to secure it in place?

I'm not trying to nitpick, by the way, I'm just curious.

I have a small fitment on the inside to which a cord can be attached to lash
it down on to something inside the cabin. It is only ever intended as a
short term emergency thing and so aesthetics don't really matter.

deck hatches -- glass
 

On Thu, 17 Nov 2005 02:13:09 GMT, "Roger Derby"
wrote:

Terms here in the colonies are somewhat different.

Plate glass is made by flowing the molten glass onto a (preheated) iron
slab. It is the truest, flattest, available; but hasn't been made for
decades. What one gets now is "float glass" made by flowing the glass onto
a (shallow) puddle of mercury. It's almost as flat, but not optical grade.

Float glass is floated on molten tin.
Much flatter than the most part of pre-float stuff.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK