How to Make an Inside Hatch Cover
Details
Details
The weather can be a fickle friend and with all the variations of cloudy, partly cloudy, and scorching hot sunny days, sometimes you need a variety of weapons to keep your boat’s cabin perfectly cool and well-lit. For the hottest days, you can cover the outside of your hatch with a Sunbrella® Hatch Cover that will block all the light and protect the glass. But for those in-between days, why not use a lighter cover that will help shade your cabin while still letting a little light flow in? We’re going to show you how to do just that by making an Inside Hatch Cover.
Using an inside hatch cover allows you the freedom to attach or remove the cover from inside your cabin. Our inside hatch cover is made with Phifertex® Mesh which has an open weave that allows air to pass through and has about a 70% shade factor. If you wanted more shade, you could use Phifertex Plus or Sunbrella Sling fabrics, which have a 90-95% shade factor.
We attached our hatch cover using YKK® SNAD® fasteners. These adhesive backed snap studs are great for this project because they adhere really well to surfaces and they don’t require you to drill a hole. We recommend using a plastic SNAD wherever possible on flat surfaces. Plastic SNADs are not suitable for curved or uneven surfaces; in these instances, silicone SNADs should be used instead. We also strongly recommend that you use 3M™ Tape Primer 94 Adhesive Promoter before installing the SNADs. Using the primer will result in the best adhesion results over a long period of time.
This project is simple to sew and great for beginners. In this video, you will learn how to pattern, sew and install an inside hatch cover.
Do you have covers for your hatches? What style are they? Share your experiences and ideas in the comments!