Many boats constructed during the heyday of production in the 70s and 80s, both power and sail, emerged from the factory with aluminum deck hatches. While some of those hatches were constructed in-house, many were from established hardware companies such as Lewmar and Bomar. Frame options included anodized aluminum, a powder coated finish, or simply painted—all with a clear or tinted acrylic lens. Styles included low and high profiles, the high profile with a significant lip to ensure a solid seal when waves sweep over the deck. While they weren’t designed to be stepped on, a quality deck hatch and lens could take that punishment when crew was scrambling about on deck.
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