DIY bow hatch hard cover?

I was wondering if anyone out there has tried making a DIY bow hatch replacement. I have one of the New Zealand made 2010 OK Trident Ultra 4.7 with the older cross strap hatch cover system and somehow I lost my bow hatch cover on my way back form T-Bay a few weeks ago!!! I called OK and to my disappointment, the New Zealand manufactured hatches are a different size than those made in the US and they're no longer manufactured!!! I love my boat and fish often, but can't bomb through the surf with a 20''x13" hole in my yak! I have a neoprene cover, but don't trust it through the surf. Anyone out there have any suggestions? I was thinking about trying something out of layered marine plywood, but I'm open to suggestions.  .

Yup, hit up insayn

http://NorthWestKayakAnglers.com/index.php?topic=3259

Thanks Noah, was gonna do that but my phone won't search for some reason.

Thanks Noah, was gonna do that but my phone won't search for some reason.

Tapatalk? Try it again, I think they fixed the bug. At least for iPhone.

Yeah, Tapatalk. Still doesn't work from my LG

Look into thermoforming type plastics such as Lexan, kydex, or even a sheet of PVC. It may be hard to get the excess material to smoothly wrap, but it's amazing what you can fab with that stuff. A clear Lexan hatch would be awesome!!

I think black Kevlar fabric would look really good for that and be bullet proof! 

A good source for plastics is Multicraft Plastics in Tigard.  They will have virtually any kind of material you want and can even fabricate a new hatch cover if you want them to

www.multicraftplastics.com/

Go to your local autoparts store and get some cheap fiberglass resin, and some hardener.

Make a mock form the same size as your hatch opening out of dense closed cell foam at least 2" thick.
Carve the edges to be be rounded over smoothly.  You can sand it to get it where you want it.

Get some window plastic that is used for the house windows in the winter time. 
Lay the plastic down on a hard surface, and then place your form face down on it. 
Pull the plastic up around the sides tight and secure to itself over the back of the foam form with duck tape.

Using a hair dryer, warm it up to remove most or all of the wrinkles along the side and top.
Put a thin layer of Pam over the plastic as a mold release.

Now, stretch some Lycra/spandex material around the form the same way as you did the plastic, but this can pinned in place on the back.  It should stretch pretty dang smooth and wrinkle free. 

Gear up with a mask and gloves.
Prep a batch of resin/harder to spread thinly into the lycra material, and down the sides.  Roll it in there good so it soaks into it thoroughly. 

Now allow this to harden up to a good tack.
Flip it over onto a another sheet of Lycra and pull this up the sides and tack to the back like you did the previous layer.

Flip back over, and apply another layer of resin/hardener mixture. 

Continue doing this until you have the thickness you are looking for.
You can use Felt material as well, but it won't stretch enough to be wrinkle free if stretch it around the edges.
Instead you could do a layer of Lycra, then cut a piece of felt to fit the top surface, and another to wrap around the sides.  Apply resin to this and roll it down firmly to secure it the lycra layer.
Then alternate with another layer of Lycra, then Felt, Lycra, Felt until you reach the desired thickness.

For a cool touch, use a wild colored Lycra for the final outer layer. 

Allow this to fully cure over night.

Cut the lid from the form near the bottom of the form. 
Peel the plastic from the Lycra if it stuck to it. 

Trim the lid height to fit your kayak. 

Done!

This has to go down as the worst fiberglass advice in history. Spandex, plastic wrap, foam and Pam spray then add polyester resin and the catalyzed reaction will turn it all into a messy pile of goop. Exothermic reaction (heat producing), it basic chemistry.

Do some on-line research about forming fiberglass. There are several types of cloth (weave, mat, cloth) in different weights all used for different purposes. Polyester resin comes in a variety of types as well, but two classes; laminating (non-waxed) and finish (waxed). Color comes from pigmented gel coat, a type of polyester resin that has better adhesion properties than the resins I've mentioned but is not suitable for laminating cloth. It is possible to pigment resin used in lamination but the fibers of the cloth will show thru and the finish can not be polished smooth.

If you want examples of kayak repairs check out my FaceBook Page, Specialized Kayak. I do this professionally. Please, don't mix spandex and resin together you'd be wasting your time and money.

Go to your local autoparts store and get some cheap fiberglass resin, and some hardener.

Make a mock form the same size as your hatch opening out of dense closed cell foam at least 2" thick.
Carve the edges to be be rounded over smoothly.  You can sand it to get it where you want it.

Get some window plastic that is used for the house windows in the winter time. 
Lay the plastic down on a hard surface, and then place your form face down on it. 
Pull the plastic up around the sides tight and secure to itself over the back of the foam form with duck tape.

Using a hair dryer, warm it up to remove most or all of the wrinkles along the side and top.
Put a thin layer of Pam over the plastic as a mold release.

Now, stretch some Lycra/spandex material around the form the same way as you did the plastic, but this can pinned in place on the back.  It should stretch pretty dang smooth and wrinkle free. 

Gear up with a mask and gloves.
Prep a batch of resin/harder to spread thinly into the lycra material, and down the sides.  Roll it in there good so it soaks into it thoroughly. 

Now allow this to harden up to a good tack.
Flip it over onto a another sheet of Lycra and pull this up the sides and tack to the back like you did the previous layer.

Flip back over, and apply another layer of resin/hardener mixture. 

Continue doing this until you have the thickness you are looking for.
You can use Felt material as well, but it won't stretch enough to be wrinkle free if stretch it around the edges.
Instead you could do a layer of Lycra, then cut a piece of felt to fit the top surface, and another to wrap around the sides.  Apply resin to this and roll it down firmly to secure it the lycra layer.
Then alternate with another layer of Lycra, then Felt, Lycra, Felt until you reach the desired thickness.

For a cool touch, use a wild colored Lycra for the final outer layer. 

Allow this to fully cure over night.

Cut the lid from the form near the bottom of the form. 
Peel the plastic from the Lycra if it stuck to it. 

Trim the lid height to fit your kayak. 

Done!

My bad, I only said resin and wasn't specific enough. 

I should have said fiberglass epoxy resin which work just fine with all of the materials I mentioned.

Yaktrap, I mean no disrespect to your experience or professional view. 

However, many, many, many custom speaker box enclosures have been made by professionals and backyard hobbyists with amazing results.  I have  seen and helped on several occasions preparing cars for stereo competitions back in my college days.
The smooth stretch of lycra/spandex, or even cotton T-shirt material is how you get the crazy shapes that are nearly impossible to do with freehand fiberglass layup.  Some of the better brands of the lycra can be a bit hydrophobic in nature, so using the cheaper stuff has worked just dandy. 

Keep the mixing container longer/wider and shallow, vs narrow and deep along with proper hardener ratio will keep the exothermic reaction in check and not melt the project. 

Pam has been used successfully as an epoxy mold release for years, and will continue to be used successfully.

Hard foam board (like the blue or pink wall board insulation material) has also been used successfully with epoxy fiberglass work for many years as well. 

This project of making a hatch lid is not building a complete kayak, it is not a load bearing object, it does not need to be shiny and smooth, however can be made smooth if that is the desired effect with yet more Yankee ingenuity.   

This has to go down as the worst fiberglass advice in history. Spandex, plastic wrap, foam and Pam spray then add polyester resin and the catalyzed reaction will turn it all into a messy pile of goop. Exothermic reaction (heat producing), it basic chemistry.

Do some on-line research about forming fiberglass. There are several types of cloth (weave, mat, cloth) in different weights all used for different purposes. Polyester resin comes in a variety of types as well, but two classes; laminating (non-waxed) and finish (waxed). Color comes from pigmented gel coat, a type of polyester resin that has better adhesion properties than the resins I've mentioned but is not suitable for laminating cloth. It is possible to pigment resin used in lamination but the fibers of the cloth will show thru and the finish can not be polished smooth.

If you want examples of kayak repairs check out my FaceBook Page, Specialized Kayak. I do this professionally. Please, don't mix spandex and resin together you'd be wasting your time and money.

I have had a custom lexan cover built to custom dimensions at Tap plastics for about 20$.  It fits perfectly and has lasted many years.  You'll need a cardboard mockup and pictures and measurements to leave with them. Takes them a few days to complete.  Not as interesting as the spandex route described above, but should get you back on the water soon!