Posted by Portnastorm on
URL: https://forum.mymorbic.uk/Anomalies-and-mods-tp17p21.html

Hi All,
Seasons Greetings.
My thoughts on hatches and a confession or two.

I bought four round hatches when I started my build.  One for each of the side tanks and one each side of the mast on the bulkhead. I've always though putting one single hatch right behind the mast was a bit daft.
The hatches I bought had threaded lids and the necessary sealing ring.
I figured it would be clever to cut the holes for the hatches in the relevant positions before I started to assemble the kit.  I then placed the hatches on a shelf for the next year or so.

Much later when the planking was finished and the boat was turned over I had some second thoughts.
I've always planned to use the boat for cruising so the buoyancy tanks will be used for a bit of dry storage and therefore hatches need to be opened and closed easily.  I've found the screw in type can become very difficult to open and are prone to getting cross threaded, the ones I bought now seemed very flimsy and I realised I'd been a bit of a cheap skate putting price before quality.

I also thought that the area aft of the mast could be better utilised for my purposes if I did away with the forward thwart and instead built what I now call a thwart locker which will be self evident from the photos.



The Port side locker is for "dry" storage, the Starboard side is "wet" in that the mast step drains into it and then through a limber hole to the bilge. I'll use that for ground tackle and mucky stuff. When closed the thwart should provide a safe place for my grandchildren to dangle over the side, and will also form the forward end of my sleeping platform.

I obviously needed some suitable hatches for the lockers and decide to look for replacements for the round ones at the same time. I searched the internet and found https://www.floatyourboat.co.uk/ where I bought the ones you see here. The catches fold flat and shouldn't snag on any ropes etc. They seem very robust and have sealing rings.  I've bedded them in place with butyle tape but time will tell how watertight they are.  



I appreciate they may not be to everyone's taste, I've tried to put function over form and I think they will suit my purposes.
I hope to be on the water when the weather improves and the restrictions ease.
Stay safe everyone.
Graham.