Companionway hatch hinge

[snotter]

There is a problem I am having trouble solving. The problem has to do with the hatch on my Morgan 41 Out Island (center cockpit). Charley Morgan designed the hatch to fold in half so that it will fit inside the coaming when opened. Unfortunately, I can't use a piano-hinge alone on the hatch because then the hatch will leak. For the past 8 years I've been using a strip of nitrile underneath a piano hinge to keep the water out; however, I have to replace the leather strip 2 or 3 times a year due to UV degradation of the strip that gets exposed to the sun when the hatch is opened. Also, opening the hatch causes the nitrile to stretch around the hinge. This leads to cracking of the nitrile which, in turn, limits the life of the nitrile. I am looking for a long-term solution to the problem.

I am thinking of using a strip of leather to replace the piano-hinge and nitrile strip; however, how to attach the leather to the hatch other than glue? I can't use epoxy because it will make the strip inflexible where it soaks up the epoxy. I was thinking of using two strips of metal to sandwich the leather strip edges between the metal and the hatch. However, the metal would prevent the hatch from folding flat. It would also put too much stress on the screws when the hatch is opened because the weight of the hatch would leverage the resultant force on the strips that are holding up the hatch just ~ 0.75" away from the pivot point of the hinge.

Does any one know how I can glue the leather to the hatch without using any other material? Perhaps there is some other synthetic material I can use that is elastic and holds up better to UV than nitrile to use under a piano hinge. Please take the time and effort to post your ideas.

[captjcook]

Might hold up better than nitrile sheet and eliminate the seal altogether? First source I found...

http://catalog.monroehinge.com/viewi...FYkCaQodPGcN-w


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[Zach]

You could make a canvas cover to keep the UV light off the strip.

Another option would be silicone rubber sheets, as they are UV-stable.