Today, my father, girlfriend, and myself went to West Marine to get supplies. When I bought the boat there was a hole in the bow that I did not know what it was. We finally figured it was a hatch. So while picking out a new hatch, we also got a silicone seal to make it watertight to prevent mold/rot. It worked wonders and I think it will remain waterproof and keep the inside nice and dry. We also applied the silicone gel to other "at risk" areas where water could sneak in and ruin my day.
On top of those two purchases, we also picked up a chip/crack fill in material. This stuff ROCKED. It totally blew away our expectations as to how it could cover it up.
Finally, we went to Lowes and picked up 1/2 inch thick pressure treated plywood to start the interior. We made a template out of parts of cardboard and then traced that onto the wood so it will fit. MAKE SURE to find out if the pieces fit around the support post that goes underneath the mast.
Purchases today:
4" hatch - $14
Silicone Gel - $10
Chip/Scratch filler - $14ish
You can see in the above picture that there is some "goop" from the chip/crack remover that I did not peel off but it continues to the left of it where I did remove it. And above that you can see a crack which is what it used to look like.
We waterproofed the hell out of this area since it is constantly going to get blasted with water.
