Leaking Lewmar "Ocean" Hatch

[Na Mara]

I had a Lewmar hatch start leaking on me and it was that the sealant bedding of the hatch had failed at one corner. The hatch and old sealant had to be removed and the hatch re-bedded. The re-bedding was easy, the removal of the hatch and old sealant was a PITA and resulted in a bit of cosmetic damage to the hatch (can only be seen when open). It sounds to me that at least some of your leak issue is from a failed seal between the hatch and the deck. Good luck, leaks are the devils work.

Apologies I just realised that someone else upthread offered the same advice. But good advice bears repeating.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by jkishel

Depends on the age of the hatch. It is not possible to replace the lens seal or lens alone on some of the older Ocean models. There should be an identifying marking on one corner of the lens (open hatch and lay the lens flat on the deck to see the marking). Send that info to Lewmar and they will tell you the part number(s) that you need, they are very helpful.

Yikes. Sounding more and more like I need to just replace the hatch entirely.


Another day, another boat buck (or two).

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

I had a Lewmar hatch start leaking on me and it was that the sealant bedding of the hatch had failed at one corner. The hatch and old sealant had to be removed and the hatch re-bedded. The re-bedding was easy, the removal of the hatch and old sealant was a PITA and resulted in a bit of cosmetic damage to the hatch (can only be seen when open). It sounds to me that at least some of your leak issue is from a failed seal between the hatch and the deck. Good luck, leaks are the devils work.

Apologies I just realised that someone else upthread offered the same advice. But good advice bears repeating.

Thanks!


I might just want to farm out this work -- do you have anyone in Malmö who does good shipwright-type work? I will be there anyway having some deck work done by a great rigger I know in Malmö.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by jkishel

Depends on the age of the hatch. It is not possible to replace the lens seal or lens alone on some of the older Ocean models. There should be an identifying marking on one corner of the lens (open hatch and lay the lens flat on the deck to see the marking). Send that info to Lewmar and they will tell you the part number(s) that you need, they are very helpful.

Hatch was purchased new from defender in 2021 or so. Installed 2022. Leaked in 2022.

All I can tell you is what they told me - lens is not field serviceable because of the way it is assembled. They were fairly responsive, though lens half took two months to arrive from the UK. I really do appreciate their accepting the warranty claim.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Hatch was purchased new from defender in 2021 or so. Installed 2022. Leaked in 2022.

All I can tell you is what they told me - lens is not field serviceable because of the way it is assembled. They were fairly responsive, though lens half took two months to arrive from the UK. I really do appreciate their accepting the warranty claim.

Sounds terrible.


Any alternatives to Lewmar for this, in similar sizes?

[CrispyCringle]

With the hatch open you should try to flex the lens up and down, from the inside and outside, as you go around the edge to see if there is any movement with the seal around the window. But you definitly have a leak with the flange sealant if you have water coming in those screw holes. For just vertical falling rain, the hatch seal does a pretty good job. But the lens seal is directly exposed to rain and Id bet thats where your other leak is.

I had a lens seal leak in a Ocean 60 hatch and did a lot of research on seal replacement. Although many of the Lewmar models are serviceable, from what I read any attempts at replacing the hatch seal (which is partially bedded under the lens) or the lens seal on an Ocean series are destined to fail. I was going to just replace the top part of the hatch on mine, but then discovered after two days of fussing with one of the hinge pins, that it was corrosion welded and not about to come out. So I had to replace the whole thing.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Sounds terrible.


Any alternatives to Lewmar for this, in similar sizes?

Manship. 316 stainless. Heavier than Lewmar but very nice. Price is similar.

https://www.marinedepotdirect.com/man-ship-low-profile-deck-hatches-inside-opening-only.html

Good luck

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Yikes. Sounding more and more like I need to just replace the hatch entirely.


Another day, another boat buck (or two).

I replaced the seals and acrylic on my 1988 moody 376.

It was an arduous job, but much much cheaper than a new hatch. Likley would have been easier to remove and reinstall a new hatch assembly, but would have been several thousand bucks…

I think you can buy the upper frames with glass and seal for the low profile. But the regular ocean series roll stop not so much…. I did a write up for the MOA. Too large to post here. But if shoot me a pm with an email address. I’ll get it to you…

[Sailingallday]

One other solution to a leaky hatch

Go to a sailmaker and have him make canvas covers that attach to the hatch. Coat liberally with waterproofing. Voila. No more leak around the lens gasket. If it starts to leak, put more waterproofing on the canvas. Cheap, easy; and looks sharp.

[nwh10]

I fully understand the compunction to remove the leaky hatch and replace/re-bed as needed. There's nothing more horrifying that water dripping on your bed. OK, that's a slight exaggeration.

But removing/re-bedding is a huge job. Try using Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure first. You might get lucky. It's amazing stuff.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

I replaced the seals and acrylic on my 1988 moody 376.

It was an arduous job, but much much cheaper than a new hatch. Likley would have been easier to remove and reinstall a new hatch assembly, but would have been several thousand bucks…

I think you can buy the upper frames with glass and seal for the low profile. But the regular ocean series roll stop not so much…. I did a write up for the MOA. Too large to post here. But if shoot me a pm with an email address. I’ll get it to you…

Thanks! email in PM.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CrispyCringle

With the hatch open you should try to flex the lens up and down, from the inside and outside, as you go around the edge to see if there is any movement with the seal around the window. But you definitly have a leak with the flange sealant if you have water coming in those screw holes. For just vertical falling rain, the hatch seal does a pretty good job. But the lens seal is directly exposed to rain and Id bet thats where your other leak is.

I had a lens seal leak in a Ocean 60 hatch and did a lot of research on seal replacement. Although many of the Lewmar models are serviceable, from what I read any attempts at replacing the hatch seal (which is partially bedded under the lens) or the lens seal on an Ocean series are destined to fail. I was going to just replace the top part of the hatch on mine, but then discovered after two days of fussing with one of the hinge pins, that it was corrosion welded and not about to come out. So I had to replace the whole thing.

That sounds dreadful. The existing hatch is more than 20 years old, so maybe I should skip all the experiments and replace it? But I'm not sure if I want to replace it with another hatch which can't be serviced. Damn.

[Dockhead]

Here's a puzzle: How can this be leaking so much through the hatch flange? The hatch flange does not stand in water, no matter how heavy the rain, because it is mounted to a protruding lip, with a drain channel around it. So does it come through with some kind of capillary action? Does the water splash up in there somehow? I can't quite picture the mechanism here.

[CrispyCringle]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

That sounds dreadful. The existing hatch is more than 20 years old, so maybe I should skip all the experiments and replace it? But I'm not sure if I want to replace it with another hatch which can't be serviced. Damn.

I agree. All components should be serviceable. However, in my case the hatch was over 30 years old. Yours 20 years old. Thats a pretty good service life IMO, especially when they require virtually no periodic maintenance. Just replace it and never have to worry about it again.

[bsangss]

Is being unable to replace the lenses specifically an issue with the Ocean series? Asking, because I had both lenses replaced in the older Superhatch series last year and they've been water tight (knock wood).