Duane Dunn, Allegro wrote: ... The noise has nothing to do with the part that slides on the sides, it's the front lip rubbing on the nonskid. ...
Well Duane, maybe that's true of YOUR hatch, but absolutely not true of mine (model 2000). The leading edge of my hatch never contacted the deck's non-skid. The noise made by my hatch was caused by grit or sand trapped under the rails, evident by both the sound and the feel of gritty scrubbing. We probably have more acid rain down here than the PNW.
Does sound like a different problem. I keep mine regularly flushed out in the tracks and use a bit of sailkote there as well. The slides are pretty smooth. My hatch suffered from the true jurassic screech of prehistoric preportions going forward, no noise going back. It would echo for miles over water. Now it's nice and quiet both ways.
I had the same problem as Frank. The best way to find the problem is to take the hatch off and look for the wear. Mine was all worn on the tracks area with no wear on the lip even it was close to the cabin top. I got velcro in Canadian Tire it was 4' lenght, about 1" wide, and I got one for each side. I am very happy with the result. How long will it hold we will see.
Hey All,
I want to say Thank You to whomever said to sand the edge of the hatch!!! I just did it and I don't make any more noise. Thanks again and happy sails, Tony
