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I replaced the ugly painted hatch on my 1988 Montauk with a pretty new mahogany plywood one I bought from Specialty Marine. Before I threw the old one away, I decided to investigate to see if there was any of the original teak hatch remaining. To my surprise, underneath gobs of paint and an aluminum cover held in place with 70 screws was the teak hatch intact. If you look on my personal page, I posted pictures of the hatch as it looked at removal and then later with the aluminum removed.

I am looking for pictures of the back side of the hatch cover, or the diagram of the hatch for fabrication purposes. The teak at the leading and hinge edges will need to be replaced, but I don't know how the back is supposed to look and if any of the supports belong.

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Not one person out there with the original teak hatch for the bow locker?

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I'm going to my boat tomorrow and will try to remember to take a picture of the back of mine. At my age I have a serious case of CRS.

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Thanks, and amen to CRS! I still have 10 lbs. of paint to scrape off the hatch, but I need to start saving if I need more teak to repair this thing.

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Two wooden cleats with 2 screws for each board.

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Your photo shows 3 cleats on the bottom.
The middle one was not original. Someone added that.
As Phil states, 2 cleats.

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I was just going to ask him to look at the pictures on my personal page and tell me which two of the three stay. The lifting hole passes through the lower cleat, or did they move that one?

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Here are some photos.
http://www.blackduckgallery.com/BOW_L...OVERS.html

Maybe you should consider just purchasing a new one.

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If I had seen that site first, I would have, but I have $200 tied up in the one I bought from Specialty Marine.

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I added the photos to my personal website.

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Thanks. I also got the one you e-mailed to me. It's too hot and the mosquitos are too thick here in Florida now to work outside consistently, but I'll get around to restoring the hatch and post pictures.

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Anyone have any comments on the Specialty Marine Replacement Teak Bow Hatch? I'm thinking about buying one…

Were you satisfied with it as a replacement, or would you spend a lot of time refinishing an original one?


Mike

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MB -

My Montauk hatch was really trashed. I gave it a good sanding, reattached the cleats and trim with better fasteners and then applied several coats of Teak Oil. It came out fabulous.

I emailed you a "before" and "after" photo.

I say work on yours first.

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Teak is so durable that I would always try to restore an original Montauk bow locker cover if possible. Joe's link to Blackduck's products pretty much shows all details. Before I varnished mine, I removed the original screws, one at a time, and drilled holes 3/8" for teak pegs. It was a nice improvement over the plain screw heads torqued into the underside braces with no previous countersinking work.

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I bought and installed a Speciality Marine Teak Bow Hatch. It is made very well. I could not have bought the Teak for the $129 I paid for it. Although the Hatch was varnished, I did re-sand lightly and applied 8 coats of Flagship Varnish. It fit perfectly. I am very satisfied.

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Oops, see Personal Page for photo.

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Ron,

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one. I'll add a few coats of varnish on it.

I don't have the time to strip, sand, and redo the whole thing again. I did that once. It seems like a bargain at $129 and a real time saver. Thats extra time I can spend on the water.

What kind of covers do you have on your boat? Are those Mills?

Mike

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Mike,

I got my seats/tank covered at Collier's Trim Shop in Dewey Beach, DE. (2206 Coastal Hwy Dewey Beach, DE 19971 (302)227-8398) Ask for Mark. If you are close by, he’ll come and measure and fit. He is excellent! and very reasonable for the quality work they do.