F32 1977 Replacement Hatch

wasserhund · Post by **wasserhund** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:50 pm

Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket hatch that will replace the F32 without doing any modifications? Thanks

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 8:23 am

You can try John at Marine Tech. 717-684-4145. If you are talking about the hatches on the front deck, you could just buy a sheet of same colored plexiglass, have cut to size and duplicate the wood frames from the other hatche(s), that is if you have the other hatches...

John is very good about these things.

Jamie

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:06 am

Don't use Plexiglass.

Use 3/16" tinted Lexan - much higher impact strength!

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:49 am

Yes...what Rossjo said!

jav · Post by **jav** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:23 pm

I respectfully disagree with Ross. Lexan does have far better impact resistance but at 3/16" thickness (.187"). the span of the hatches (24") is quite large for such a thin panel. Mine are made from 1/2" acrylic (plexi)- I think that's what the fatcory used and the thinest I'd go with is 3/8".

Also, Lexan or polycarbonate, is softer and more prone to surface scratches than acylic. You can get specially coated polycarbonate that is more scratch resistant but it's quite expensive. I'm rebuilding may hatches and have opted to use 3/8" tinted acylic... I'd prefer 1/2" but cost and local availaibility are prohibitive.

wasserhund · Post by **wasserhund** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:34 pm

Thanks all for your input. I will check out the lexan glass modification.

Sea Ya · Post by **Sea Ya** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:58 pm

wasserhund wrote:Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket hatch that will replace the F32 without doing any modifications? Thanks

I need replacement front windows n the bow. i have a 71 f26. Not sure what they used but it looks bad. is there a Dark plexi or lexan out there that i could use w/o using curtains in side like limo dark? If not what material yall reccomend?

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:35 pm

3/8" is good if you plan to stop a bullet ... 3/16" is plenty thick, as evidenced my hatch covers., whcih I have actually stepped on with no problem.

The Lexan Margard is more expensive, but worth the extra $20-30 ...

obeejr · Post by **obeejr** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:35 pm

Looking on the internet, a 4' X 8' piece of 3/8" Margard Lexan costs $883. That seems like a lot of money to replace a couple of hatch tops.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:27 pm

Try a search for 3/16" tinted Lexan Margard (or equiovalen ,loike Hyzod or siply polycarbonate - the generic name) on eBay. Smaller pieces are routinely available.
eBay search for ("3/16","1/4") (tin*, bronze,blac*) (lexan,polyc*,hyz, margard,mr10)
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... p=1&fsoo=1

Here is a 1/4" sheet of Lexan MR10 15"x30" for $15.50 + $10.92 shipping - enough for 2 hatch covers:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-LEXAN-POLYCARBO ... dZViewItem

Granted - it won't save you from a 38 special or a meteor, but will work fine for many a year, and is much stronger than Plexiglass ... If you're nervous, try 1/4".

Respectfully, I must say that 3/8" is overkill in my opnion, and would look bulky, but do as you will ... especially if you owe the mob a ton of cash.

chumwithabottleofrum · Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:02 am

I replaced the front windows and the flip up windows in my F26 and upgraded the front hatch using acrylic (on the front hatch) and polycarbonated (for the front windows and flip up windows). I had the new components fabricated at a plastics fabricator. Any small city or large two typically has a couple of firms that do that type of work. I think the materials and all of the fabrication cost me less than $300 (Youngstown OH). Four years later I am a little disappointed in how the polycarbonate has weather-it has gotten "cloudy" and is difficult to clean. The acrylic on the other hand at this point appears to be weathering better.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:02 pm

The down side of Polycarb (brands = Lexan, Hyzod, Lexan MR10, Lexan Margard, etc) is clarity. If you're using tinted glass it doesn't matter. If you need "CLEAR", the acrylic is much clearer, but lacks the impact strength and "toughness".

There are various grades of both, so make sure you get the highest impacst strength Acrylic (brands = Plexiglass, LuciteÂ®, AcryliteÂ®, PerspexÂ®) available (sign grade) or scratch/UV-stabilized Polycarbonate if ultimate impact strength is your focus.

Acrylic has 10 times the impact strength of glass and Polycarbonate has up to 250 times the impact strength of glass, so Polycarbonate (generic name) is about 20-25 times the impact strength of Acrylic (generic name) ....

Lexan (GE's brand) has an impact strength of >200 foot.pounds and a tensile strength of 9,500psi. Acrylics have > 1.0 ft.lbs.

Finally - figher plane canopies are molded from 1-1.5" thick polycarbonate .... so you decide .... or send Vito his cash!

lltigger1 · Post by **lltigger1** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 3:14 pm

I had a local auto glass guy come down and replace a few of my windows that had cracks and chips, it was very cheap, then I had a another auto guy come down and tint all of my windows as well as the ones below deck with full limo window. You won't need any curtians and it helps keep the boat cooler, not to mention it looks great.
Glenn

Trojan Boat Forum

F32 1977 Replacement Hatch

F32 1977 Replacement Hatch

Don't use Plexiglass

F32 Hatches

Re: F32 1977 Replacement Hatch

3/16"

cost

Acrylic vs Polycarbonate

Hey, See ya