Sliding hatches repair?

[Kris]

My Pahi 42 comes with three sliding hatches for the deck pod and the two hulls. I like the design in general as it is easy to open by foot and strong enough to step on as well.

But after what I assume must have been many years for sliding back and forth, they cut though all the epoxy mesh down to the bare wood; Luckily not rot yet as the wood seems to dry out well at these places.

The issue is mainly that the sliding rails seem to be placed on an very oddly shaped strip of hardwood, that while not in the best shape either, would be quite hard to replicate if pried off the hull (Impossible without damaging it). But without doing that it seems hard to fiberglass the gap newly to protect the wood underneath.

Does anyone here have seen a similar issue with these sliding hatches? Any good ideas how to renovate it easily?

Or is there maybe a better design where the hatch doesn't slide as much on the underlying hull?

[Andy Nemier]

photos?

[Kris]

I assume it is the standard in the Pahi 42 design:

The worn through part looks like this:

I think I'll remove the metal part and then try to fiberglass over the entire thing, unless someone has a better idea?