> Not quite following ya, how much room should i leave for the gasket
> 1/4", 1/2" Won't weather stripping compress pretty tight?

This is a tough one, but I'll guess. If weather strippin is 1/4in, use 1/8in off set at the compression pts and say almost the full 1/4in (say 3/16 in plus) offset at any points far away. - prob at the peak. Hopefully when cinched down your hatch will then be flush.

>saran
> wrap the hatch cover with foam attached to it then fill the crack between
> deck and hatch with wax? glass from the inside over hatch foam and saran
> wrap?

This certainly makes the most sense to me. For the spacer, I would use any fairly flexible mat'l say 3/16in thick or so. Say 3/16 foam core, or 3/16 neoprene, or a layer of corrugated cardbd, or foam from one of those meat trays, or the clay I mentioned. any thing that you can attach temporarily to the hatch in order to lay out the flange. Use some weather stripping (for the spacer only). Make the offsets by hot gluing bits across the hatch flange junction.

>take the clay and roll it in my hands and make something nice to
> better control my frustration w/ hatch-making?

I take the clay, roll it around, and realize that no matter what shape I make the offset, if I use something like silicone, it will adjust to the shape and I still can get a perfectly sealed, perfectly flush hatch and still be perfectly useless at anything taking any ounce of skill at all.

> Tom

we need the evil or especially the beneficient Ross!!

-mick