Sliding Hatch Cover Trim

The original P323 sliding hatch cover came with a small trim piece of teak attached with three screws (see figure 1).

Mine was badly weathered and needed replacing. I did not like the original design since I could never get a good grip on it to close the hatch. Rather than replacing with a copy of the original, I designed a larger one that I could get a grip on and which would deflect any green water that made it over the sea hood (Figure 2).

Since teak is expensive, I first made a prototype out of pine and made sure it fit. Then, with my prototype and teak stock in hand, I took them to my cabinet/furniture maker friend Paul Keyser to help me cut it to size. We used a band saw, a table saw and a router. The sequence of cuts is important and you’ll need to keep that in mind, since the piece requires square, angle and curved cuts. You’ll also want to save all the cut off pieces as you go so that they can be temporarily reattached while making the remaining cuts. The router was used with a plywood guide that matched the curve of the hatch to cut the 3/8 inch deep rabbet that overlaps the aft edge of the hatch cover. The piece was finished before attaching with screws from the underside. Now I can easily grip and open and close the hatch cover.