GIBY’s carpentry and fabrication teams have joined forces to replace a flat Lexan hatch with a curved teak hatch on a Mason 54. For the hatch, Steve C. milled the wood stock; cut, glued, and clamped the shiplap; sanded and faired; squared the ends; and shaped the crown. For the slides, John G. ground, polished, and fitted stainless steel runners.

Working from technical drawings, provided by the owner (an engineer), the team addressed a variety of challenges during construction. An existing seahood, for example, dictated that the crown be altered slightly to clear the fixed molding. In addition, the mounting surfaces, below the old plastic slides, were discovered to be in rough shape and needed to be carefully cleared and faired before the new slides could be properly fitted.

By building the hatch oversize the team has allowed adequate wiggle room for the next step…finding the proper angles at the edges where the hatch meets the tracks. Once complete, the hatch will get ten coats of varnish!