Hatch Lip

[hermco]

Your going to seal it down so leave enough room for a good bead of sealant. I would not put any sealant under the hatch just the seam from the top so it is easily removed by cutting the sealant with a razor knife.
Sorry no drawing this time

[other tom]

what he said about sealing just the gap, from the top, with silicone. Silicone does get dirty after a few years, but then take it out and do it again. With a new piece, wax it up real good on both side of the gap, and the silicone will always come out. I once was re-doing a 284 Intrepid and they were meticulous about their gap, wax, and silicone bead...the floor hatches came out in minutes and then the extra silicone was really easy to strip off both sides. Natural inclination is to bed the whole darn thing in sealant, but you will only do that once.

[Capt Chuck]

Rich

If you cannot make a lip or add a strip as Hermco has suggested, as another alternative you could try this stuff. I have used it to fill in the gaps. It is waterproof and flexs with the deck. You can get it at Home depot in 20' lengths for under $4.
Just stuff it in the gap after screwing the hatch down and then caulk over. I think Tom's idea of waxing first makes sense

[hermco]

I worked for Intrepid for 13 yrs. Plug work,R&D,rigging,electrical,assistant foreman and then service mgr. Still do some warranty work for them now and again....

[hermco]

I don't know Capt. Chuck, that looks like a "stop gap" measure to me but it definately makes it a one beer job!

[Capt Chuck]

Your right Don, it's just a filler.
On the original deck hatch with the pry out hatches that housed the batteries underneath became a pain in the arse to remove and then reseal everytime to service the batteries. I then made a new hatch with a gutter which worked until the transom redo...

Here's a prior picture of the deck hatch with the gutters before the splash well removal. I used to screw around with that darn thing all the time when it was in it's original config..

[hermco]

Whats up? I don't see any beer bottles in that bilge!

[thedink9]

Don / Other Tom

The wax idea does make sense as I have already taken this hatch out 3 times over the last 2 years and it is a PITA with such a large gap, to remove all the caulk. Thanks Rich

[bbh57]

I was preparing to use a composite board but I was concered about not being able to secure the T-Top to the floor properly with glass and foam stringers below the deck I convinced myself that doubleing the plywood in the holding points would be better.