Several people asked what kind of hatch I installed in the back of my boat so I figured I’d write up a short tutorial about how I did it. It’s not very challenging, but there was a bit of a trick to doing it right.
First off, how do you know if you need to replace your back storage hatch? Here are some tips: Is it leaking? If yes get a new hatch. Is it the stock Bomar hatch? If yes get a new hatch. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but those Bomar hatches should never have been installed in the floor of the U20. They are fine hatches, but the specs for that hatch say “Not waterproof on horizontal installations” which is why they all eventually leak. The Lewmar and Tempress hatches are designed to sit flat and shed water, keeping them from leaking as much.
The hatch I went with was the Tempress 1330 which is just slightly smaller than the stock Bomar. It sits in the existing cut-out without any modifications and covers the old bolt holes. But it’s not a perfect fit, the dimensions of the Tempress are about an inch less than the Bomar. This works, but puts the attachment holes very close to the edges of the existing cutout. There are also some extra hinge cutouts on the Bomar that the Tempress won’t fully cover.
How do we solve this issue? With a custom made flange that fits underneath the cutout which the Tempress can bolt through. How do you make this custom flange? Good new, you already have it! The flange is just the outside frame of the old Bomar hatch. Simply pull off the old hatch door and cut the rim so that it will sit flush under the deck below the new hatch. The old frame will also fill in the gaps where the old Bomar hinges were. I had to adjust the flange a bit to make the Tempress fit, but ultimately it worked very well and made for a nice secure and waterproof fit. It looks pretty good too.
