I hope the picture will work.

if not, then this is its link:

http://homepages.go.com/~fl_pelican/hatch/spcr_prfile.jpg

is this the material you found at work ?

well, this is the one I tried, & it didn't worked, so I switched to a flat top neoprene strip. just trying to save you time.

I know there is another type of hollowed weather strip, that is smaller, I mean, the diameter of the neoprene is smaller. it looked to "skinny" & gentle to me, so I didn't used it.

you can check my website for some more info & pics:

http://homepages.go.com/~fl_pelican/home.htm

about the perfect curvature:

If you are using the cutout as the cover, you have no problem.

if not, this is what I did: I glued the 2 pieces to each other with 5 min thickened epoxy, while it is lying on strips of plywood across the opening, so I'll get the exact curvature, & I did. I put the 5 min epoxy on 2 "dots" along the seam, & I used the regular epoxy & fg for the rest of the length.

once cured, the cover will be very stiff & I don't think you'll need any supports. I don't use any.

Erez

: I want to try to get a perfect match in curvatures for my Return hatches. I
: plan on putting an additional thin carbon fiber layer on the inside of the
: deck to stiffen the hull and especially the hatch prior to cutting the
: hatch. I am still not sure that I will include a couple of ribs on the
: hatch to ensure that the shape is maintained. I think that any
: reinforcements should be put in prir to cutting the hatch.

: I also found at work some seals which I would expect to work significatly
: better than the weather stripping. The weather stripping requires
: significant force to seal = bad. If you look at your car, it uses hollow
: section, which form a good seal with large displacements and low forces =
: good. I will test the small ~rectangular cross section hollow tubing and
: let you know.

: Andreas