catalina27-talk: hatch seal

[Jeff Sheler]

Has anyone replaced the gasket on their forward hatch? I'm talking about the black rubber gasket on the under side of the glass which compresses against the aluminum frame below when the hatch is lowered and locked, supposedly creating a waterproof seal. Mine let in copious amounts of water recently when we were crashing through 4-foot waves that swept over the bow. Not long ago I resealed the lower frame with butyl tape and it is water-tight. But upon inspection I found that the upper gasket was pulled away slightly in one corner, and I'm sure that was where the water was coming in. I was able to snug it back in place, but that opened a half-inch gap where the two ends of the gasket meet in the middle of the frame. Whether the gasket has shrunk, or whether it was never properly fitted, I think it's time to replace the gasket.

I have two specific questions:

First, my current gasket has a channel that snugs around a lip in the upper frame, holding the gasket in place. So a cutaway view of the gasket looks something like a small letter 'a' (in Arial font). Does anyone know where to find this type? The ones I find in West Marine catalog and at Catalina Direct online don't seem to match. Or do I really need this type? Will a generic gasket do? (Offhand, I don't know the brand of the hatch.)

Second, my old gasket is easily removed. No adhesives apparently were used. As noted above, the design of the gasket seems to use friction to hold it in place. Yet I see in the catalogs that WM and CD want to sell me adhesives to go with their gaskets. Do I really need to use adhesives? It seems mine was designed to be used without the sticky stuff, and if it was properly fit I wouldn't have had this problem. Or am I wrong?

Your input is requested.

Jeff Sheler
s/v Windsome
C27TR #6594     
Hampton, VA