Julian Porter wrote:Do you think Honor Marine would have replaced the hatch without adding the rubber seal? I can see no evidence of there being one.
Did the early boats have toughened glass hatches.
The modification described above is only possible where an acrylic hatch is fitted.
When I bought my boat from HM in 2008, Bob Brown went to great lengths to point out the "improved" hatch arrangement which he had developed to eliminate the leaks associated with the SA boat hatches. When I asked about the glazing material he was using, he told me it was "Lexan" (poly-carbonate). He was using this as he was unable to source suitable toughened glass.
It is perfectly possible for a hatch to be fitted without any seals, Mine has a very simple foam rubber seal which is fitted to the front of the garage opening and rubs on the top of the sliding poly-carbonate hatch. I believe later boats may have been fitted with a second seal attached to the top of the sliding hatch to divert any water which gets past the first seal to the sides where it should simply drain away and not leak into the cabin.
My hatch does not leak in normal use because it never gets wet. Mary Ann lives on a swinging mooring and therefore is always bow to the wind and I have sprayhood which is always erected. The only time I can get any leakage is when the boat is on it's trailer, slightly nose down and the wind direction is not "bang on the nose".