As you can see, we have now removed the deck from the deck mold and rolled it over into it’s 
correct orientation. The goal now is to complete as much work on the deck as is possible, prior to attaching it to the hull or "decking the boat" in boat builder’s terms. Here the crew from deck preparation are buffing the deck’s smooth areas and cutting out all of the openings where everything from hatches, to lockers and portlights will be installed in the deck.
Deck hatches (other than the aluminum framed overhead hatches which we purchase from Lewmar), are made to suit the pre-determined openings in the deck. In order to create maintenance free surfaces on both sides of these hatches, we create two molds which are matched. We then lay up the two halves independently and use a structural adhesive to bond the two halves together. That way we end of with smooth gelcoat on both sides of the hatch.
The hatch pictured here is the engine room hatch. Perhaps you can see the recesses where the two latches and the two stainless steel hinges will be located on the finished part. In this hatch we will use a foam core because we want to reduce engine room noise as much as possible. In addition we will attach sound suppressing materials to the underside of the hatch. Once installed the gasketing around the perimeter of the hatch drain becomes another essential element in noise suppression.
This style of hatch is used in the aft cockpit, above the engine room, and at the bow for access to the anchor chain locker.