looking forward to pics from all.....Starboard sounds good cause I know I can get it around here....Chart:where would you get HDPE??? Id like to check it out........Lofty: did you really save 400lbs??......that would awesome..........doug

I just got done removing my hatch to install two scoops on my Daytona. There's two sections, the actual molded fiberglass hatch that the hydraulic ram is attached to and a sheet of padded board that's bolted to it. I would have to guess the two pieces together weigh 150-200 lbs.

More or less, Starboard is HDPE. I started out looking for Delrin(sp?), because I knew of a guy who had used it for upholstery. Yikes! That stuff is expensive! Then I started looking at Starboard in marine catalogs. Luckily I could not find Starboard in large enough panels, and had to do research that involved calling a plastics trade org and a professor of plastics chemistry. The end result was a recommendation of HDPE. I then ordered small samples from Granger or McMasterCarr and experimented with them. Tried machining them with wood tools, worked great. Clamped a two foot piece vertical in a vise and secured 30lbs of weight on top of it overnight. Held great. Then I called a local plastic dist. from the yellow pages, and told them what I wanted. Said "sure, we stock it. Do you want it in UV resistant or not? Do you want a matt finish or not?" There's was called Boatboard. (At this point I figured out Starboard = HDPE) It was under $300 for both sheets, but I think others elsewhere have gotten much better pricing. Give me a little time and I'll get the pictures up.

Don, there's a place near Detroit called Michigan Fiberglass Supply. Sorry I know that's a hike for you. I could haul it up on Smoke weekend.

I was just there Tuesday picking up supplies for my project Correct Craft. I almost drove right past it, but the guy there was very helpful in suggesting what I needed to get to finish the job. Fiberglass, resin, adhesive for bedding stringers, etc.

Sorry for the delay in posting pictures. Between forgetting, and traveling, it took a while. HDPE machines very easy with wood tools. I used table saw, miter saw, circular saw, jig saw, and drills, all with nice results. One aspect I really liked was the lack of air-borne dust like wood produces. This came off in shavings, and all fell to the floor.

In my sundeck, I built headrests, and most of the pictures are off cutting those out with a router and template. To get the correct shape of the HDPE, I simply laid the fiberglass tray on the HDPE panel and traced. It's important to mark which side touches the fiberglass, and which side will touch the foam. Nothing on a boat is symmetrical, including the sundeck.

I also beefed up the fiberglass sundeck in the corners where the hinges attach. Doing fiberglassing where it doesn't show is a lot more fun than doing fiberglassing where it does show!

Here shows the fiberglassing, and the almost finished sundeck with the upholstery on the boat. I was building and test fitting the headrests at this point. My upholsterer was a joy to work with, as I'd bring some of the work in, he'd do it and I'd take it back for test fitting the next parts. It's easier if you go back with just as it was stock, but I wanted big changes.

Thanks for the pics Chart!!.......I called around......Starboard is readilly available around here........
How heavy do you think the stock fiberglass tray is.....all by itself???
Do you think you could save much wieght by making a whole new one out of HDPE and simply upolstering it and covering the staples on the edges with a piece of trim???......doug

PMT: No. I recall the starboard to weigh more than the fiberglass tray. You won't get much weight savings by eliminating the tray, especially if you have to reinforce the starboard to support people on the sundeck. Keep in mind, my tray does not have a piece of plywood glassed into it, like the floor of the boat does. I don't know if your boat does or not.

How many pounds do you want to save anyway? How much does your tray weigh? I could easily lift and move each part by myself, tray, 1/2 inch starboard, foam, and vinyl. I doubt the whole think including s/s screws weighs 100 pounds. Getting the old waterlogged plywood and foam out was the biggest weight savings.

I havnt tore into it yet (have to install new twin elect silent choice and re and re the k planes to have them blasted/painted and change the rubrail first ) but I do know as in my first post that hatch is EFFIN' HEAVY!!!!........were probably looking at the middle of the summer before I can get to it as I have to work outside and its borderline snowing up here still......my boat is an 89' so it could very well be all waterlogged wood......doug