Companionway Hatch Rails

I have a newly acquired 1988 IP 27 and the plastic (or maybe nylon?) rails on which the sliding hatch actually slides are cracked and breaking up and need replacement. I am not at the boat but they are about 2" wide, 1/2" deep and maybe 2' long. Can someone tell me where I can get either replacements or the material to make replacements? Thank you

You may be able to get replacement rails from the factory, and others on the list may have suggestions for other sources. Also, there's a good set of instructions on how to replace these rails without removing the companionway hatch, either on this site or on IP Home Port; you should check it out. Finally, on my IP27, rather than replace the rails, I've just removed the broken pieces (there have been two, one on each side, each about 5" long), removed all the old bedding material, and remounted them, using new bedding (LifeSeal) underneath and at the seam between the pieces, and then screwed the pieces down with s/s oval head screws, countersunk into the railing so they don't catch on the hatch. Worked fine on my boat.

I have replaced the hatch slides and it is rather easy. Here are the simple steps.

#1. Slide the hatch open.
#2. Look up from the underside, down below, and you will see the slides behind the front edge of the lide.
#3. Cut here, behind the lid
#4. Unscrew the slides where you can see them on the top and remove this piece.
#5. Cut a new piece, and slide it under the hatch and screw it down.
DONE

There is no need to remove the hatch slide since you can look up underneath the hatch and see the slide behind the hatch front.

Hayden

PS:
When we all started doing this we first thought that we need to remove the hatch cover which is a real hard job because you have to remove the traveler. But this is the easy way to replace them.

Check out the album on this. It's got photos. But again, you may not have to do it at all: just rebed and screw down the broken piece.

Many thanks. Can you tell what the rails are made from and where I can get the material? My rails have broken into pieces that are about 6 inches in length and replacement seems to be the best solution. Thank you responders.

Here are some photos to show you how the hatch does not slide back the entire way, so you can easily mark it from below and use a small pointed hand saw or fine saw and make the cute. Slide the hatch forward after marking to make your cut.

#1: Slide the hatch back to the stop and mark it


#2. Slide the hatch forward and use a small saw and cut it


#3. From the top, unscrew the old and screw down a new slide.


You can buy the slide material from the factory or you could use starboard and cut your own strip.

Hayden