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This shows years of neglect:

I took all the hardware off the cabintop and have cleaned to expose the damage...


Now what do I do
Would this be considered structural damage? Is Marine Tex good enough of a patch? What should I use?

Hi Gaz!! I assume winter is finally over up there..
IMHO Marine Tex will do the trick and then use trick #2. Thats the Velcro for a slide surface trick..that stuff will wear like iron..

First time on the forum after lurking in the shadows for some time.
I had a similar problem on my '03 although not as severe as the pictures show. I removed the hatch top and cleaned the mating surfaces then put down a couple of layers of " Slippery Tape" ( UHMW tape part #25U04.01 from Lee Valley Tools ) on the cabin top. I also put a layer on the mating surface of the sliding hatch. Feels like ball bearings now. It seems to be fairly durable, I have had it on for a full season and it also survived our -35c winter.

Al

Thanks Guys,

While I'm prepping to do the Marine Tex, in order to seal the fiberglass. I might be able to work in that tape too. I'm worried about the adhesive for the velcro - as well as the tape - holding up during a hot Florida like Summer swell, though.

I might consider "resining" them in. Slippery tape resined onto the repaired cabin top and the soft side velcro resined onto the sliding hatch... Hmmmm....?

so far in AZ heat of up to 115 degrees my Velcro has remained firmly stuck for 5 years now.

Velcro Tape?? The soft side or the bristle side?? What size?? Velcro??? Really???

Soft fluffy side...

Really!

Cool! But I don't want Velcro on the top of the deck - it looks tacky! Can I just put the Velcro on the bottom of the hatch cover?? (Or even better yet, CARPET the hatch cover cuz it so ugly on the bottom anyway??)

I already put that cream color inside hull liner carpet stuff on the inside of the forward hatch so why not do the inside of the companionway hatch too?

Would carpet do or does it have ta' be Velcro?

The fuzzy sided velcro is usually put on the bottom of the hatch "lips", with the ends turned over to the top for a few inches to protect the leading edges from snagging on something.
It's not visible in normal use.

Carpet may work, but the velcro already comes with a sticky backing making the mod so simple to do.
Besides, the velcro thickness seems to be perfect for the task.
Mine is going on four years and it's working fine.
I'm still waiting to replace it whenever it finally fails.
A little hose down in the area once and awhile, and it's good as new.

The difference is night and day.
Smooth feeling with no more screeching, not to mention the break the gel coat finally gets under there.

Try it.
Half a day at the most, even if you may be prone to cross-threading ketchup bottles as a rule.

Okay, I gotta take off the hatch to carpet it anyway, so I will not carpet the "lips" and put velcro there.

Thanks for the tip!

Problem is gelcoat scraping on gelcoat with salt, light sand and other matters that rubs away the gelcoat, glass layup over time.
Using a 1/16 inch thick tape 1/2 inch wide and apply Marine tex than remove tape on both hatch and deck. (1/16 thick tape is so you need only a putty knife to get a smooth 1/6 inch thick spread.
This gives you a 1/2 inch width bead on sliding ridge, that small stuff goes on each side during wash down.
The epoxy Marine tex is hard to ware compared to polyester Gelcoat and resin.
You have a serious wear down and would do as suggested than apply gelcoat outside of the 1/2 inch tape or use a putty knife to bellow the edge from the 1/6 inch riser to flair and protect. Any exposed glass areas that is exposed will draw moisture so a seal is a must.
End results is the hatch is ridding on a 1/2 inch x 1/16 strip of Marine Tex, top and bottom and and allows fine dust to go off the sides during washdown.
Much better than Velcro. And probably last 10 years or more .
Dave

Hello,
I had the same problem with my 95. It wore down until the forward lip of the hatch began rubbing on the deck, making a horrible noise.

I used white gel coat from west marine and brushed it into the groove to build it back up. A quick sanding after drying thoroughly and it was done. I used 2" self adhesive velcro (the fuzzy "loop" part) and applied it to the top of the hatch foot, around the underside and up the inside a ways. 4 places per side (evenly spaced). That was 5 years ago (maybe more) and it has been working great. I just flush the groove with water and slide the hatch back & forth to clean it.

I tried this mod and used both the fuzzy & the stiff Velcro and ended up sealing my hatch closed! I had to survive on warm beer & bread until I divised an escape plan. I looked in the mirror to see what I saw. I took the saw and cut the dinnette table in half. Since two halves make a whole... I climbed thru the hole! Whew!! I won't do that again!!

Does Velcro work under water?

K9's post tels you all you need to know about Andrew.....