Interesting!! When I ordered my hatches, I told the company that I was having problems with my day hatch leaking. They sent me a tube of caulking to use. (Free of charge, I might add.) It never occured to me to check and see if it was a silicone or not. I'm at work right now but I'm guessing it's not - but rather a sealant that they use at the factory. If this is the case, I'll reset my day hatch and see if it solves the porblem. If so, then I'll go with the bolt and seal on my new wooden boat.

Thanks for the edumacation!!

Sean

:

: Btw, sealant and your day hatch. The advantage of using screws
: (bolts) to hold the hatch down, is you can gradually add
: pressure to the sealant. Most use too much pressure at first and
: squeeze the sealant out between the two surfaces they want to
: seal, leaving little left to actually provide a seal.

: They should be installed just snug enough to hold the hatch ring in
: place then enough time allowed for the sealant to set before the
: screws are snugged up firm, at least 24 hours. You're making a
: gasket with the sealant, has to have some thickness or it won't
: work and will leak. Adding more tension to the screws if it
: starts leaking does nothing at all.

: Bill H.