Understanding Boat Deck Hatches: What You Need to Know

Understanding Boat Deck Hatches

Jared 00:07
Alright guys, so we get a lot of calls on deck hatches. There's a lot of different questions of what the application is what the best application is. So let's talk about how some of these deck hatches even come into play in that what are some of the questions you get?

Andrew 00:20
This is a loaded one.

Matt 00:22
This is a loaded one. I mean, you're either replacing an existing hatch or you're adding a new access point, right? So if you're replacing an existing hatch, a lot of times it's a fiberglass hatch that's tooled into the deck and suction. It's a little bit more involved with replacement and you know, if you're making new access, you're trying to figure out what's underneath there in the first place. You know, making sure that where you're cutting is going to be cleaner and what you're doing with the storage area is going to suit the purpose of what we can provide.

Jared 00:54
In a lot of cases those hatches are fiberglass like you said, they're pulled into it with like a gutter, right? So looking at some of the different options, Andrew, I know that you're a bit propane of the deck hatch that we offer. Why do you feel that way?

Andrew 01:10
Yeah, you know, I mean, to answer that question, you got to reiterate you know, you don't see deck hatches like this on new production boats. For the most part, it is you know, fiberglass tooled into the boat manufactured by the boat builder, you know, or it's the engine molded style that have the other two piece frames where the frame, the top frame is incorporated into the actual hatch and covers the frame from a waterproofing perspective.

Your boat is the style of manufacturing are very tooling specific so they are not custom. You can’t get that hatch, but I want that three inch bigger or five inches. To do what we're doing specific, you know, your livewell, your aluminum frame, we put your King starboard specifically on the side. So the big advantage of that we can build any site that you want. You know, on the flip side, it's really not designed to be a deck hatch which is proof of resistant anyway. And you know, that's typically we tried to over warm that like warning this is not waterproof, which is a lot of cases so don't get me wrong, I think it's really good product with a major limitation. Major limitation being water will seep into it.

Jared 02:29
For those of you using it for like a dry storage hatch or something like that. You would not use this you'd go over with like you said something it’s stooled in the boat. We’ve got some other hatches from different vendors that the door closes over the top of the actual frame rather than inside of it like the style.

Andrew 02:46
You know but a lot of cases you are so well. If you're, giving an example a customer calls you. A customer calls you with a broken fiberglass hatch.

Matt 02:57
The biggest challenges you've got 25-year-old boat hatches or maybe 30-year-old boat, the first box hatches wood board, it's just a little soggy, rotted, you know its 30 years old, and anybody that steps on it, and it cracks under his weight and I can't have anybody on the boat stepping on this hatch anymore. I have to replace it, right? So the first option would be to look at something like this.

Andrew 03:20
Well first option would be to call your boat builder, but good luck, right? I mean, in a perfect world, you're going back in with the same fiberglass hatch.

Jared 03:28
20 30-year-old boat, they may not have the tooling for that in.

Andrew 03:32
Most cases they probably don't.

Matt 03:35
Right so you're going to a fiberglass shop and you're saying hey can you use the existing fiberglass some gel coat hollow up core, replace it with something and then re-glass it and make it re-gel coat and make it look good?

Andrew 03:45
Which may be and is that practical? In some cases where that's tough to find someone that does that kind of work?

Matt 03:49
It's tough to find someone that does that kind of work, but if you know the right people, they can get it done. The question is, how much are you going to spend on it? That's the biggest challenge because the time that it takes to do that is going to be pretty extensive.

Andrew 04:01
Like this very much so not a one for one replacement for that right. The way it's going to mount you're going to have to cut out the lip. I mean if we're talking specifically fiberglass that hatches you're probably going to have to cut the lip out so that this sets down into it and mounts either through the frame or through the inside of the frame. So it's very pretty labor intensive.

Matt 04:25
It's definitely not a one for one replacement. Yeah, there's going to be some work done on the customers and to make it happen or on you know, whoever their installer might be. The challenge is, you know, you don't want to do that in an area where you're trying to keep things right like maybe a forward hatch or keeping all your fishing tackle and stuff like your things like that’s not going to be an application for this but a fish box, maybe a bilge access hatch. That's this is going to be a good option for someone who doesn't have a good solution.

Andrew 04:57
Yeah they know that for this specific application. Who cares? Right and in that case, it's pretty, it's great. I mean, we've selling against it really hard, which I think we should I mean, that's part of this. The impetus for talking about this is to give these a very real limitations. Beyond that, though, it's totally fine. I mean, these are going to have a really long, lifetime or lifespan you know, the starboards never going to break on you. It's really nice product is going to leak.

Jared 05:27
And that's a specific horizontal application. But for the vertical application if you were using it not necessarily on a deck if you want it on a gunnel for access, or alternatively on a console I think this is also a really buyable solution.

Matt 05:40
Yeah it is a good option.

Andrew 05:42
This is, how would you consoles work now this specific example has these welded corners which are a little more unique. We don't do that very much. Normally there been radius corner but the same material and construction method is how we do consoles for almost everything. There. So in a vertical application. Perfect, awesome, really low profile, good looking, you know, it's just a horizontal to let you run in a little bit of issues.

Matt 06:04
Yeah and if you were going to compare these to those injection molded like specific tool type hatches. There are some pros and cons. obviously water resistance on this, we've covered that. The other major benefit to this is its much lower profile, those injection molded hatches standard half inch or more off the deck. So if you're walking around, you know, fighting aI fish whatever you may be doing he goes back and now you're tripping holding onto a rod trying not to lose the fish and you may be falling down in the boat where this this is going to be a lower profile that stand the frame stands about an eighth inch off the deck and you have a really low profile latch on there.

Jared 06:37
Then you'd argue that this is going to last a lot longer. You know there's a lot of injection molded hatches over time start to get decayed. For sure… a guy like me steps on breaks.

Andrew 06:50
So we talked mostly about like replacement like if your back deck hatch is broken or needs to be replaced. But on the flip side, you talk to some people just looking to add access.

Matt 07:00
Yeah, for sure so there are a lot of older boats that had access doors on a vertical face that go up under the bow. that's a little bit of a challenge to read stuff in there. You're kind of leaning upside down, reaching your hands and trying to get itself so we've done these mounted up over the console or I'm sorry, over the bow area so that you get top-down access to open up when you're standing down in that deck reaching over and it's much more convenient. I can think of a few different boats we've done that on, old Mako like 17 Mako. We did it on some older Cape horns like the 21 and they turn out really good. They're really good options for that.

Andrew 07:40
But if you're if you're adding a hole, you in theory, can control the size of the hole is on that Space right so you have the option in that case, to potentially go with one of the injection molded which again have standard sizes right limited to whatever a half dozen different sizes. So pros and cons for that versus one, they're going to be more water resistant. They're going to be less expensive because they're not custom. If they're stock off the shelf. They probably won't hold up quite as long as this like you said, profile thing. Right? You can make an argument about aesthetics one way or the other or anything else you should think about if you're adding a new hatch. Oh water resistant.

Matt 08:20
Water Resistant isn't talked about but access. What are you trying to store in there? I mean, you may not find an injection molded hatch that's large enough for what you're trying to store in…

Jared 08:29
My angle is 13 by 15, every time I have the incorrect angle to get in there, turn it around.

Andrew 08:38
That's your pass-through dimension is pretty critical if there's something size specific

Jared 08:44
Good stuff. Awesome.