I live in Cartagena in Spain, a region where it only rains 30 days a year. I noticed some water on the saloon table of my Bavaria 38 after some heavy rain, so I decided to do something about it, writes Jose Molina.

I have done many other repairs on my previous 1980 Furia 33 and on my current boat, a 2004 Bavaria 38. It’s a very easy repair – it took just a couple of hours – but I’ve not seen it anywhere else.

Jose Molina sprayed his Bavaria’s hatch with water to try to trace the leak. Credit: Jose Molina

Here’s how I did the job:

Boat hatch repair: step by step

Step 1: Find the leak

I watered the main cabin roof with a hose to detect the source of the leak and observed some water dropping through the closed hatch between the hatch frame and the deck.

Step 2: Materials

For €20, I bought a roll of 20mm-wide butyl tape from SVB (one of Europe’s biggest online chandleries) – a width just about right to fit around the extruded lip of the hatch surround.

Step 3: Remove the hatch

With the hatch open, the next step is to unscrew the hatch frame from the deck – you can see here where the old seal has broken up around the hinge area (at the top of the photo).

Step 4: Remove old seal

With the hatch removed, the deck area around the hole can be cleaned up with acetone. The same needs to be done to the aluminium of the hatch surround once the old seal is removed.

Step 5: Add a new seal

With the frame cleaned up, stick the butyl tape around the inside of the hatch frame, carefully bending it around the corners and keeping it as flat as you can. Ensure a tight join where ends meet.

Step 6: Replace the hatch

Add some Sikaflex into the screw holes as an extra seal as you screw the hatch back down onto the deck. The job took just two hours to do and cost only €20 for the butyl tape – leak cured!

Email your practical projects and tips to pbo@futurenet.com including high resolution photos where possible. We pay at least £30 for each one published. Words and photos by Jose Molina.

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