O-Hatch Busted Through! Help

Hey guys,

Looking for ideas on how to repair this, or somebody with the tools and skills to repair as a service.  I'm hoping to remove the hatch altogether and patch the opening. 

Thanks,

-Aaron

If you want to remove the hatch I think you'd be golden. I would say a large plastic cutting board or a piece of starboard (marine lumber) http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/TAC-P105012WHA27/ some goop and poop rivets. Trim it an inch or so larger then the hole place it in the hull and rivet it in place with a bead of goop sandwiched in between

EWB is on it, many of those 8 inch hatches have an inner ring that goes under it.  I would also consider using one of those as it would be the same size and you could goop the snot out of it.

Poop rivets,,,,,,,,

Actually you've gotten good advice here, but Cobra does have a lifetime guarantee and from experience they do stand behind it.  However if you let them fix it it may take forever.

I would give them a call or an email though.

If I had bought this new, I would be all about hittin up Cobra.  But my old man picked it up for, like, 75 bucks at a swap meet about 5 years ago and I've been using it in this condition for about 3 years.  Finally tired of it picking up a gallon of water when doing tourneys in the rain.

Seems like it would require quite a few rivets, though.  And I'm picturing the remaining lip catching on clothes and lures.  Would it bond with the HDPE they sell at Tap when heated up?  Like to have a smooth transition between old plastic and new.

Also, do you think 1/4 inch would be the right thickness?  Should I go with 3/8"?

BTW, Thank you all for the input.

-Aaron

I would try to repair it while keeping the hatch, for no other reason than to keep a flush deck and prevent a HUGE patch.  Here is what comes to mind after looking at your pics;

-  Measure the hatch and get a backing cut at Tap out of 3/8" Seaboard (or the equivalent they just changed to)  I would have it overlap the inside of the hatch opening by 2" if possible

-  drill out the pop rivets

-  use your hatch to mark the hole pattern on the Seaboard backing

-  drill and tap the backing (this stuff is great for tapping)

-  reinstall your hatch using stainless hardware  (you could even use flathead and countersink it to keep a flat profile on top)  goop the hardware on the way in

-  check the integrity of the busted side of the kayak by the hatch, if it looks iffy then I would put more hardware through the deck into the backing adjacent to the hatch

I second the repair and keep the hatch notion.  Especially since thats totally an easy one.  if you do, go one more step and spend $12 on a tube of HDPE epoxy to make it super strong and waterproof forever.
If you take your hatch to Tap with you they can probably make the backing plate to the perfect size while you wait.

repair to better than new for less than $40, should take about 3 hours.

cheers

Aaron, talk to the guys in Half Moon Bay Kayak Company...they are a Cobra Dealer and I have seen them do repairs in their facility. Tell 'em your with NCKA. (Talk to Doug or Chris = the owners)