Flush Timber Hatch Lids

 Now the cockpit floors are installed it's time to work on the hatch lids.

I need to consider the following when constructing the hatch lids:

• They need to be hinged.
• They need to be reinforced so they can handle the weight of a person standing on them.
• They need to be waterproof.
• They need to be able to be locked.

Firstly, the cockpit floors around the hatches need to be trimmed and the edges rounded over.

I used a "Trimming" router bit to clean up the cockpit floor overhang.

And a 6mm round over router bit for the edges.

A router jig is made for the lid hatch lock.

The routed recess allows the thicker section of the hatch lid to neatly slide down.

Each Hatch lid consists of 15 parts including hardware. The 6mm ply lid is reinforced with a slightly smaller 6mm thick section laminated to the underside resulting in a strong 12mm thick lid. The reinforcing section is smaller so as to provide a gap around its circumference for a 2mm thick rubber seal.

All the components of the lid will be epoxy glued together and temporarily held with screws.

The hardware consists of 2 hinges and a lockable latch. The hinges will be fastened on top of 4mm shims which for decorative purposes will be 3mm larger than the hinges and provide a total of 10mm of ply timber beneath the hinges for fixing screws.

This has been an exciting mod requiring considerable planning, engineering, time and patients.

Gluing and screwing the sections together.

The hatch lid is sanded smooth, the edges rounded, and the hinges and latch are installed.

After some small adjustments the hatch opens and closes smoothly.

Here you can see the gap around the circumference of the lid where a 2mm thick rubber seal will be glued in place.

This pic shows the drainage channel around the hatch opening that will direct water into the footwell and then into the sea.

The shims under the hinges are both decorative and provide a 10mm thick bedding for the screws.