Tartan 37 hatches

carl s · **Joined:** 31 Dec 2006 13:33 **Posts:** 90

Jeff, I have one in the garage that you can have. Needs a goo cleanup but if you want it I can give it to you for shipping cost. I will be out of the country for four days, email me or just leave your address and I can ship Monday or Tues. Carl

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Jeff, You could unscrew and pry up the fixed-frame of the hatch, reverse it and re-mount it. Might need re-bedding anyway. You'll want to file down the ragged edge of the broken hinge so you won't cut yourself.

DAEDALUSCAN · **Joined:** 09 Dec 2007 21:03 **Posts:** 114

I doubt that you will weld that, not really worth it after taking it off either?

You could make up a stainless hinge for both ends of the pin, file off the old ones and bolt it on.

jbarnes11 · **Joined:** 10 Feb 2008 18:03 **Posts:** 48

So - I took it off which was pretty easy since as others noted it is screwed in not bolted. Then I seperated it from the deck with a heat gun and a putty knife. After that I took it to a guy who aluminum welded it. Very cheap - $10. He built it up and it looks perfect, after it weathers for another 30 years it will match the other side. HA

DAEDALUSCAN · **Joined:** 09 Dec 2007 21:03 **Posts:** 114

"I eat my hat". That is great news, did the welder say what the metal was? I though it was soe kind of magnesium alloy which is hard to weld.

Charlie

carl s · **Joined:** 31 Dec 2006 13:33 **Posts:** 90

Chuck, I replaced the lens in forward a&h hatch and it came out beautiful. I went with a bronze tint. The hardest part of the project is getting the old handles and knobs off. I believe the older 37s even had aluminum handle and eventually changed to stainless. Either way, it is really really hard to get them off without damage. The knobs are no longer available so plan on using a large set collar or something else. The seal for the hatch is available from a&h but I would recommend you just buy some bulk silcone foam gasket (I think 5/8 in) from McMaster Carr. Use the same ge silicone as the lens to glue the silicone gasket to the frame, not much else will work. Overall, its a very easy job to make the hatch new again but plan on doing the knobs with something else. I think I have a used frame and several knobs in the garage if you need let me know. The knobs have the setscrew hogged out and I decided to go a diff. route. Thanks, Carl

jbarnes11 · **Joined:** 10 Feb 2008 18:03 **Posts:** 48

He said it was just aluminum. If it was different he didn't say and it seems to be sound. I thought it would be hard to find somebody to do it but I guess living around all these automotive factories paid off - there are (were) a lot of skilled people working around here.

tartan37224 · **Joined:** 20 Oct 2006 23:30 **Posts:** 19

Our forward A-H hatch had a cracked frame, so we replaced it with a Lewmar Ocean series 70. Three small fiberglass cutouts for the hinges were the only mods needed. The hatch fits perfectly otherwise and has been trouble-free since we installed it several years ago.

The one over the saloon is an A-H hatch, still in reasonably good condition but with heavy crazing. I will replace it with a Lewmar Ocean series 30 rather than send it off for rebuilding, but only so the two hatches will match.

Tom Wells
T37 #224 Higher Porpoise

jbarnes11 · **Joined:** 10 Feb 2008 18:03 **Posts:** 48

If you have pictures of this I think it would be neat to see. Even though I've fixed the problem - they don't really look good next to the stainless ports. Nice to see the options.

jClubley · **Joined:** 27 Apr 2008 18:41 **Posts:** 23

does anyone know what hatches are listed on the tartanparts website?
They actually seem to be priced reasonably.

https://www.tartanparts.com/product/pro ... 570a89b975
https://www.tartanparts.com/product/pro ... fefd5cf2a8

Tartan37.com

Tartan 37 hatches

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