Bree, I figured this warranted a new thread.

I actually have a real answer for you on this one. Either this issue or the previous issue of Good Old Boat had an article about making a seahood. They showed a trick for how to match the curve of the deck with the bottom of the seahood. You take a compass (the kind with a pencil in one end not the kind you normally find on boats) set it to the desired width and trace the top of the deck with the needle end. The other end pencils the exact curvature of your deck onto your seahood, or hatch if you prefer.

I'd think you could make a frame out of wood, fiberglass it heavily, then trace the curve into the bottom using a spacer and the desired width on the compass. You could cut out the center and make a nice window with lexan too.

Maybe consider mounting the hatch the opposite direction too as it won't be forced open should you submarine your boat into a big wave or in a trough. Some venting capabilities are lost though...

I saw that article. I don't want a big raised thing. Maybe I could get a thick piece of lexan bent to the perfect curve.

brainula wrote:
I saw that article. I don't want a big raised thing. Maybe I could get a thick piece of lexan bent to the perfect curve.

"Somewhere" I think in a book, maybe in a saved link, I have the instructions for heating and bending lexan. Not that it is difficult but I think there were some tips that may save some trial and error. I'll try to find it this morning.

Bree, the info on bending is in This Old Boat by Don Casey. It's in the 2nd edition not sure about the first. It's more than 4 pages so I won't begin to type it. You may know where to get it or PM me if you are interested.

cool. thanks. I will check it out.