: I have just finished glueing up the hatch stiffeners and the lip inside the
: rear deck on my CH16. What i need to know is what sort of gap do i need to
: have before i epoxy the edge of the hatch and the bare wood edge of the
: deck, at the moment the gap is under a 1/16th all the way round (basically
: the width of the hacksaw blade i used to cut the flush hatch out with)

: Thanks

Close is best and it's always best to work with one and get it where you want it, then go back to the other part and make it match..

Are the edges of the wood still rough from the cut? You could lightly sand the hatch opening to get it smooth and then coat it with one or two passes with the epoxy, let it cure, sand and recoat until you are satisfied that it's covered and smooth. Then fit the hatch in and see what you have to work with. If it's tight, sand it a little at a time until you have room to coat the hatch edge and still get a good close fit.

Epoxy doesn't take much room per coat, so I doubt you will have to clean out too much of either...

Detail work like that takes a little more time, attention and caution to get it exact.

The finer the line the better it looks and your pattern ( if you have one ) on the deck will stay true.

Hope that helps!

Rehd

On the odd chance that you go too far on the hatch and leave an ugly gap, not to worry... You can clean it up by cutting a very thin strip of wood and band it around the hatch to hide it. Or, a contrasting wood to accentuate(?) it. ??