The Hatch

Here I glue up the slider part of the frame.

For the backstop I decided to glue on one additional strip to add height. This improves the ability to seal out rain.

I've sanded the tracks.

I've assembled and glued the frame.

I test fitted the frame. The starboard slider turned out ok but the port was at an angle. I clamped things up, sawed the glue joints and reglued to fix the problem.

I ordered 1/8" plywood from www.harborsales.net For faster shipping I specified it to be cut into thirds so it could be shipped by UPS. Also I specified Sapele since it was slightly more expensive than okoume but it put the price high enough for free shipping, thus saving me a bit of money. Also the sapele is stiffer than okoume so I can get by with two layers instead of three for the hatch. The sapele arrived tonight just in time to be used.

Here I've glued up the first layer of sapele. I had to make sure that both slider edges were absolutely parallel. Also the frame had to be squared up to the plywood.

I foresee removing the hatch in the future for maintenance. One way of doing this is by making this piece shown here removable. Another way would be to make the aft portion of the slider removable and glue the piece shown here permanently to the hatch. The more I think about it the more I like the latter method.