If you think the job to replace a boat hatch seal is easy, think again. What looks like a one to two-hour job turned into a six-hour frustrating drama with multiple trips to a workshop and boat store. But we made mistakes. Watch this ten-minute video to avoid the stumbling blocks we ran into so you can save time and avoid the stress we endured.
And keep in mind that you may not have to replace your boat hatch seal right now but it’s highly likely that you’ll have to do one or many at some point. Sure, you can pay someone to do it but the longer you own a boat the more you realize that paying for jobs results in:
- Mediocre results, at best
- Less money in your wallet
- An increasing feeling of helplessness
What’s involved in replacing a boat hatch seal?
In the video, Simon will show you how to remove a hatch, open the hatch frame, take the rubber seal out, replace the seal, put the hatch frame back together, and reattach it back to the boat. By watching our how to replace your boat hatch seal video, you’ll be able to:
- Determine if it’s worth the time and effort to replace the seal rather than buying a new top hatch
- Avoid making mistakes between low and medium profile seal options
- Witness ways to get screws out when they just won’t budge (a good lesson for screws stuck anywhere)
- Understand why people often put their hands to their head and say, ‘It’s a boat,’ in a frustrated voice
- Catch some outtakes at the end that show Simon really losing the plot – and interestingly it’s not about the hatch but a noise that I made.
How To Replace A Boat Hatch Seal Video
Resources From The Video & Extra’s You Might Like
- Impact Driver – a must-have on a boat. Screws easily corrode and become near impossible to simply twist out. Using an impact driver provides the necessary torque required to get the screw started.
- Simon’s Tshirt ‘Sail Fast Live Slow’ – makes a great present for yourself or a loved one. Comes in five different colors and loads of sizes. Simon lives in this t-shirt and it has held up remarkably in saltwater and constant UV rays 🙂
- If you’re interested in all the kit that we recommend as being ‘must-have’ check out our Boat Kit page.
- All our ‘How To’ maintenance videos can be found here: How To Maintenance.
Any Questions or Comments – How To Replace A Boat Hatch Seal
Please leave them in the comments below.
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I need to replace a seal in a low profile also. I have the new seal, but the barrel bolts you loosened with the allen keys are not budging. I have bent my allen keys, and spayed so much penetrating lubricant but still not budging. I then ordered new hinge barrels just to see how they work and to confirm the direction of turn. Still no luck. Thinking I will have to get out the grinder and destroy the hinges. Maybe try some heat (heat shrink heat gun).
Oh Mike…you have it worse than we had it. What a pain. Yeah – the only thing I can think of is trying heat – at this point you don’t have much to lose. It might be worth just getting a new top hatch?! S.
Just did this job and what a pain!! Had the same experience. Our hinge pins hadn’t moved in 20+ years and were seized so the only way to get them out was to destroy them. I cut the plastic portion only with an oscillating multi tool and it was a piece of cake. After that the pin came out. You can get replacement pins from Lewmar.
06.17.2020
Hi all!
I’ll be one of the first ones to admit salt water raises havoc with all things metal !
With that said always coat metal screws/bolt threads with a product called never seize so those parts
won’t ever seize again. When it comes to putting together unlike surfaces coat them with diluted liquid
dish detergent in & around friction surfaces just makes life easier ! Always stock up on hard to get parts
whenever available for the obsolete models.Once a repair is done the next encounter just becomes
easier & quicker ! Discarding usable parts is a wasteful expensive,time consuming process!
Always enjoy your posts so intriguing & comical.attracts the eye ball while maintaining ones focus!
Practice makes permanent for a smoother sail. Happy waves W.W.
Great advice. Thank you W.W. 🙂
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R1F1ZRE?tag=duckduckgo-ffnt-uk-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1
Gets tight things on……evenly….but apparently its bad for the planet.
I expect it gets jammed things off too.
Looks like it’s only sold in Europe too…Next time I’m in the UK I will pick some up. Thank you for the suggestion Bill 🙂 Kim
I did 9 hatch seals on our Dufour 525. Yes the Lewmar video is in a workshop on a new hatch. Very different in real life. I used an impact driver drill , not as efficient but if you hammer the machine screw and use crc same results . We also had difficulty in putting back together however we greased the rubber and put one side down on the deck and pushed the Top side down to close the gap. It worked. I do agree better done in a workshop. My seals don’t leak ..
Hey David. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂