Stuck forward hatch above V-berth

[Ralph vaughn]

I have a 2008 sea ray 290 that I recently purchased and I’m unable to get the hatch open. The starboard and port latches easily unlatch but then the hatch does not respond to any pressure

any ideas would be appreciated.
TIA

 

[370Dancer]

It is probably the gasket sticking to the hatch frame. Especially in the South, if you don't open the hatches (perhaps for years), they will melt into the frame, and stick pretty good. Obviously, you don't want to push on the hatch plexiglass, but you can get some kind of lever and go around the hatch from the outside to work it loose. Note that this will likely be destructive to the hatch gasket, so be prepared to replace that after opening the hatch. I rarely open my hatches as we always have A/C running, so I've been through this a couple of times over the last 17 years.

 

[Ralph vaughn]

Thanks I’m quite sure that is the problem.

 

[Sublimetime]

Slide an old credit card in the slot and carefully work it all the way around, you may get lucky and not ruin the seal too much.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Yup - "heat" stuck. Any old method can work - I often find that just pushing up on one corner with decent force and keeping that force applied for a minute starts to loosen it up. Once it starts to loosen, the rest is easy.

 

[Soulshine]

After I have changed my hatch seals in the past I like to put a thin coat of silicone grease on the sealing surfaces.

Not so much that it’s messy but it keeps the seals soft and they don’t stick.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Ralph, when I bought our boat the same hatch seals were stuck. I coated a regular old butter knife with silicone and poked around until I found a place where it could fit in. The moved it fore and aft to spread that loose area. It took about 30 minutes until the hatch seal gave up its grip but it was still in good shape.

 

[Ralph vaughn]

I will definitely try then butter knife and credit card thanks again everyone for the invaluable help

 

[Captain Allen]

After I have changed my hatch seals in the past I like to put a thin coat of silicone grease on the sealing surfaces.

Not so much that it’s messy but it keeps the seals soft and they don’t stick.

A big +1 on this. also helps prevent leaks around the gasket because it allows the hatch to flex with the boat.