Megapoxy Filling and Leak Test

 Last Wednesday afternoon I visited the boat and used epoxy superglue to fix an  aluminum plate to which the round teak cover is screwed. (There are four of these setups in the cabin because the ocean racing boat was designed to have winches on the cabin deck.)   This had been the only one of the four teak covers that was screwed into a rough piece of wood glued to the plate instead of directly to the plate.  In knocking off the piece of wood to replace it with a properly finished one I dislodged the aluminum plate and saw that it had never been drilled and tapped like the others.  I drilled the hole and with Bruce's help found a workshop that tapped the hole at no charge.

Aluminum plate tapped and glued in position

Then on Thursday I met Bruce at the boat and watched him mix two batches of thickened Megapoxy and apply it  to the forward side of the below-deck hatch support.  The idea was to be able to use long screws for the three hatch hinges, with the screws passing through the first layer of wood, through the hardened epoxy, and into the lower layer of wood. The result was a greatly strengthened support.

The next day I confirmed that the Megapoxy had properly hardened then did some extensive testing for leaks through the fitted hatch.  There were no leaks when I used the stream from open hose but there were leaks through the middle part of the seals on each side of the hatch when I applied a jet of water from a nozzle.  The seals at the forward and aft sides of the hatch held up well with no leaking, no doubt because the hinges hold down the forward edge and the locking handles hold down the  aft edge.

Megapoxy filling on leading edge of hatch support

I am not too concerned given that the open hose test suggests that the seals will stand up to seawater washing over the deck and besides, there is little that I can do about it.  Nevertheless, Bruce and I agreed that there is a good chance that the sealing will improve once the seals are properly bedded down.  There are, by the way, two seals running along the perimeter of the hatch.  The seal on the lid has a "female" profile and the seal on the base has a "male" profile, and the two rubber seals interlock, preventing a direct path for water into the cabin. And of course I am very happy that the Sikaflex bedding work that Bruce did proved to be flawless.