fitting a hatch in pictures

[ZEBRA]

this hatch is the center hatch on the prowler big game but the same principal can be applied to many hatches .


this is the complete hatch kit .


carefully mark the area to be cut out with a fine marker


drill all 4 corners allowing a little space for adjustments later with a file


using a jig saw cut out the hole just short of the line


the open hole its huge


using a fine file carefully clean all the edges and file to the cut out line


pay attention to the corners. rounded corners are not going to split a sharp corner may


i fitted a plastic box inside at this point to hold all my tackle



dry fit the frame to make sure no adjustments are necessary


drill 2 holes either side of the hatch frame


a good bead of silicone on the inside of the hatch frame will make it a watertight job


fill the holes with silicone then fit the bolt in to it to form a watertight washer when dry


after all the bolts have been tightened fill the bolt head holes with a bit of silicone this will seal the bolt holes from water when dry


fit the hatch lid and leave to dry .
the silicone i used goes translucent when dry

[glow=red,2,300]This review is also on the main website north wales kayak fishing [/glow]

northwaleskayakfishing.co.uk/id28.html

[jonnychaos]

Dont mean to be a pain but how did you fit the plastic box in the hatch because I think I am gonna use my hatch to store bait. The other thing is will a 25/32mm hole saw do the job for the corners and one last thing how do you get in to put the nuts on the backs of the pins with the box in or do you use a Tap.
Cheers
John

[ZEBRA]

hi john i fitted the plastic box before i put the hatch frame in drop the plastic box in the bath and but some hot water in the box this will softern the plastic enought for you to bend it and screw it up while getting it in place when the box is in place it will open to its origional shape sent choy a pm i think he has one of the plastic draws left that fit perfectly when the box is in place it is a lot bigger than the hole so you can get your hands in ok to fit the nuts 1 would not use a hole saw becouse of the tooth size most of them seam to have big teeth on them and i was a bit worryed in case it ripped the plastic so i opted for the jigsaw you will get just as neat a job .just remember when fitting the bolts tighten them up oposite to each other so you dont crack the plastic frame

[jonnychaos]

is the plastic box actually fixed i place once inside the yak if so how coz i cant see any fixings

[ZEBRA]

no its a really tight fit john it stays there nice and tightly held .

[jonnychaos]

ahhhh i see now well i am startiing to put all the bits and pieces on mine now so ill start with the hatch and work out ;D