How to keep it tight???

rhewitt

Member II
On our E-34-"88 we have
Lewmar
Hatchs
and they do not close and seal.

It seems as over the years
trying
to keep a tight fit they have been pulled down so far as when the handle is turned it goes under the catch block not in the slot of the block. Now as time took its toll I now have 3 that have broken their little
rivets
... can some one point me in the right direction to by new ones and or fix the (
reposition
) the old one. I have been thinking of drilling out the rivets and using
ss
screws. What do you think?

Ralph

"No Bad Days"
 

mherrcat

Sustaining Partner
You can have the Lewmar hatches rebuilt by Select Plastics. They are the factory authorized repair facility for Lewmar:

http://www.selectplastics.com/default.htm

The ballpark price I got from them about two weeks ago for the Ocean 70 size hatch was $450-$485.

For the catch blocks you can drill out the old pop rivets and replace them. I just did that on the old Superhatch on my E30+. The progression of the "Ocean" configuration of Lewmar hatches was Superhatch (original) until somewhere in the mid 80's, Rollstop (next generation) until somewhere in the 90's and now the Ocean series.

I wouldn't use screws in place of the rivets. Eventually they will corrode as well and then you'll have to replace them with larger and larger screws.

Don't know which model you have, but the pop rivets on my hatches are 1/8" x 1/2". You don't want to try to drill all the way through with a 1/8" bit; you might damage the hole in the flange. Use a 3/16" bit and carefully drill until the head of the rivet separates from the 1/8" shaft. (Don't go too far or you will damage the catch block!) Then use a 1/8" straight punch to punch out the shaft from the inside. When replacing the rivets, the ones on the outside ends of the catch block are easier to install than the one in the middle, which is recessed in a slot. (That slot, by the way, is the "vent" position. For fully closed, the handles should latch under the bottom of the catch block. For the "vent" position the handles latch into the slot, which leaves the hatch very slightly open.)

When installing the rivets make sure you keep firm pressure on the back of the rivet tool to keep the head of the rivet seated against the catch block and the catch block firmly seated agains the flange. The nipple on the end of the rivet tool is too big to do this on the middle rivet. I had to remove the nipple and use a small hex nut and a 1/4" x 1/2" in aluminum stand-off (or spacer) to get inside the slot to keep the head of the rivet seated. (Otherwise the rivet tool will not be able to grip the shaft part of the rivet that gets pulled back to expand the rivet.) I found it easiest to install the outside rivets first, then the rivet in the slot.

You can get a hand operated pop rivet tool for about $12 and the rivets at most any hardware store.
 
Last edited:

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
The problem is the seals... Fix the problem first.

The issue is that that the seals get really hard over time, taking more and more effort to compress. The seals are replacable, although it is a strang a bit sticky job.

The handles are supposed to go UNDER the frame mounted side of the latches, the slot is for ventelation purposes. I have seen a number of people break off the latches by standing on them when they were in ventelate mode.

You could use SS Screws, and probably if you want to avoid taking that hatches completely out of the boat is your only option. Be carefull what you are screwing into though.

If you need parts, and can't find them let me know back channel, I have several in stock, and have access to ordering anything you would like from Lewmar.

Guy
:)
 

mherrcat

Sustaining Partner
Where can you buy Monel pop rivets in small quantities? Can they be used with a hand rivet tool? I would replace the aluminum ones I initially used with Monel if I could find some.
 

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Many aircraft parts suppliers carry them. Google "monel rivets" and you should be able to find some. I have some that I bought a few years ago but I do not remember where. Back in my auto racing days. Could have been summit auto racing. They are expensive but not bad if you only need a few.
 

mherrcat

Sustaining Partner
Well, good luck finding small quantities of Monel rivets. I tried two places on the web for 1/8" dia. blind closed-end Monel rivets. Don't think I need 10,000 of them...

If anyone has a source for small quantities I'd love to hear about it.
 
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