1. posterid:1678175
  2. AYOG/NZ/Northland [Engine Room Hatch]

Re: AYOG/NZ/Northland [Engine Room Hatch]

Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
 

Hi all, We had the same issue with the hatch bulging where the gas struts attached. Initially I thought it was caused by pressure of the struts but this was not the case. It was the mild steel plate embedded in the hatch rusting which causes expansion. I removed the hatch and took it to my workshop. Working from the underside I dug out the material around the rusting plates and removed them. I then made up stainless replacements. Before beginning the reconstruction I clamped a board over the top surface of the hatch to push the bulge down. I left this in place for a few days to allow material memory to develop. I also left them in place until the epoxy had set. I laid epoxy saturated fiberglass cloth in the recess, put the new plates in and built up layers of fiberglass cloth until the void was filled. I did not disturb the exterior surface at all and the completed job is perfect, no bulge remains.
Kind Regards
Danny
SM 299
Ocean Pearl

On 27/10/2022 12:04 David Vogel <david.vogel@...> wrote:


Hi Nicolas,

Yes, this was a residual issue remaining from the previous owner, who had already made a fix to the problem - by installin stainless steel plates on top of the engine-room hatch to reinforce the underneath strut attachment points. These, however, were recessed into the hatch, and the integrity of the fiberglass seal was subsequently compromised with the flex of the hatch when opening and closing.

Eventually, we ended up with the internal structure rotting away due to fresh-water ingress, and cracks developing through the structure thereby enabling rain-water to enter the engine room - not huge quantities, but enough drips here and there to give concern (due primarily to high-output alternator underneath, and ONAN nearby). Our preventative measure, in the interim, was to place deck-tread over the stainless-steel pads, and then to cover the whole engine room hatch with waterproof plastic - in this case, we used clear plastic, because we could then always see what was going on below the waterproof cover. (Then, because the clears can get slippery when wet, we also placed anti-slip matting at the 'touch-down zones' for when you step into or out of the cockpit.)

Supplements to Bill.R's online AMEL SCHOOL book contain a collation of various solutions posted on the forum. The ones I used were provided by Steve Bell (svDusk, SM#378) and a very comprehensive "how I did it" by the great contributor Giovanni Testa (svEutikia, SM#428). I would expect that you may also be able to find these by searching the forum messages (try starting with https://amelyachtowners.groups.io/g/main/message/19941).

I hope this helps,

David
SM#396, svPerigee
Still doing battle with the bow-thruster
On-the-Hard, Marsden Cove Marina
New Zealand


From: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> on behalf of "Nicolas Klene via groups.io" <laixoi@...>
Reply to: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Date: Thursday, 27 October 2022 at 6:27 am
To: <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] AYOG/NZ/Northland [Engine Room Hatch]

Hello David
was your hatch refit due to bumps over the anchor of the struts ? I have that problems and I am looking for documentation to address the problem .Have you found any ?
nicolas
--
Nicolas Klene
DarNico
SM2K # 471
In Marseille 🇫🇷





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