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.
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