Mod 3 hatch replacement

Bill Bain

New Member
Since it was so warm this weekend in Atlanta, my daughter and I started to get the Capri back into shape for sailing after a 2 year hiatus. The hatch (Bowmar?) hinges ahve broken, largely, I think, because the hatch was hinged at the top and only opened about 90 degrees or so and the kids would force it wider to be able to get things out of the cuddy.
Question: I see in the West catalog some hatches that open 180 degrees. Are the dimensions of the hatch opening on the Capri published somewhere? If I have to replace the hatch with the same one, I've even thought of installing it "upside down" so that it hinges at the bottom to afford easier access to the cuddy.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Bill
 
Mod 3 hatch

About a year ago, I had to replace the hatch on my '95 model Mod 3. The reason was that the old hatch was accidentally closed with a line in the opening, and it sat that way for a week. By then the plastic hatch was warped and wouldn't close properly. So I ordered a new one from Catalina. I was disappointed in the new hatch, in that it wasn't as robust as the old one, but it worked OK.

It should be possible to measure the opening and get a new one from West that will fit. But will it work upside down? I don't see any reason why not, but I'd for sure try an upside-down "fit test" before using the caulking gun!

PS - Removing the old caulking is a bitch!
 
Bomar hatches

The Pompanette (Bomar) website notes that there are some solvent-type products that can be used to remove the old caulking. I'll chack them out and report back. If the weather's nice this weekend, I may try to remove the old hatch coaming and measure the opening. I might even be able to repair the old one once I get it off theboat and on the workbench, although I'd really prefer one that opened more widely.

Thanks for the help!
 
Cut-out dimensions

The hatch cut-out on my Mod 3 is 12" x 21". That appears to be slightly wider than the cut-outs for Rabud or Tempress hatches of similar size - typically their required cut-outs seem to be about 20.5 long and 10.5 to 11" wide. If I can find a store in Atlanta that carries either one, I'll take my Bomar along and compare it. It might worth a try.

My Bowar was put on with tape as the sealant -- it popped right off when I removed the screws. It's too doggone cold today to scrape the tape off the coaming (37 degrees, winds 20 mph gusting to 40 from the north -- Brrrrr).
 
New Mod 3's have different hatches than old ones

I took my mainsail up to the local sailing center to have reef points put in and thee was a new Capri 14.2 in the yard. The new ones use the new Bomar access hatch which appears slightly larger and does open 180 degrees. On the Pompanette website, they only list white, off-white and black, IIRC, not the gray one that was on the boat I saw. The price on the website was $84.

Since it doesn't look like gray is available, I picked up a black Tempress cam hatch for $30 on eBay. If it fits, I'll post pictures, etc. when it arrives.

The Pompanette website also recommends a product called "Anti-Bond 2015" for removing the old sealant. Boat US has it, not sure about West or Boater's World, but I'll check since both have local retails stores here in ATL.
 
Tempress Hatch doesn't fit

Dang -

The Tempress hatch doesn't fit -- the overall size is right, but the flanges are wider and the opening smaller. The pre-drilled screw holes don't reach the fiberglas on teh top edge.

Oh well, at least it wasn't expensive and since I never installed it I'll put it back on eBay.

Catalina says the new mod 3 hatch is $121 plus shipping.
 

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