Galley Hatch Clearance

[Capebuild]

I'm planning for the galley hatch construction and will probably build it in place. What's a good amount of clearance to leave between the side of the inner galley wall and the side of the hatch. I've read anywhere from 1/8th inch
to 3/8 inch..... on each side...... any suggestions what others have done would be a helpful starting point.

thanks a lot.

John

[dmdc411]

If your putting trim over the wall edges, compensate for that. I left 3/8" gap. Then put the trim on. I now have 1/8". At the hinge you really need your hinge tacked in place. It will change with the skin, or skins. Really takes a lot thought!! All things you learned along the way, as you go!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[halfdome, Danny]

John, it partially has to do with the seals you plan on using and about 50% compression.
I just measured mine and I have 1/4" clearance on each side for a total of 1/2" and it seems to keep dry especially since I have a raised threshold in the event water gets down there.
You don't want it too tight so it can grow or shrink during seasonal / weather changes.
I need the extra space for my hatch plates I weld on to keep the galley lid from ripping off from a gust of wind.
One windy teardrop gathering ( Columbia Gorge) I noticed the screws coming loose in the end grain of the plywood so I came up with this.

Now I have 3 screws going into face grain, much stronger.
The raised threshold keeps water out of the galley.

I use seals that mate up with other seals much like on an automobile.

I
Danny

[tony.latham]

I vote for 1/8".



Tony

[KCStudly]

IIRC, I used a 5mm (3/16 inch) ply shim and I should have gone bigger.

My galley side walls bow in a tad with weather changes and if I'm not real careful the slight flex in the hatch can allow the outer (exposed) ribs to drag on the wall a little bit. Plus when this is occurring the top edge of the wall doesn't stay perfectly flush to the side edge of the hatch. If it continues to be a problem (i.e. if I ever get around to finishing it) I plan to install delrin rub plates so when the ribs slide into place they push the walls out just enough to make everything flush again. But this is really splitting hairs.