: Hi Kurt,

: I have been using your own should-be-patented epoxying/sanding system for
: years to keep the weight to a minimum.

Dang, now you got me wondering what it is... Sounds great!

Thanks for the Moby pics ... how'd you know I'm fixin' to build a new boat (Outer Island no. 2) and am agonizing over what hatches to use? I want as abosolute watertightness as I can possibly get, and even came close to ordering a set of VCP hatches. But those things are expensive, heavy, and incongruous with the mystique of a homemade boat (in my humble, but highly accurate, opinion).

So ... how watertight are they? I assume a rating of "pretty darn good" since Leidy-style underdeck bungees require surprisingly little hold-down tension, actually, as long as the gasket sills/gutters are fashioned accurately.

Yeah, I know hurricanes are eventually over and everything gets back to normal. But we're in the thick-n-sweaty part of it now where it seems endless and overwhelming. But this ain't my first rodeo. Still, it's always nice to hear from someone who understands...