Has anyone fitted an inspection hatch?

[davis]

has anyone fitted an inspection hatch to the deck of their rib?,and whats between the hull and deck ,just empty space? Is there any need for one and if so why is there not one fitted when the rib is made?, just curious.

[Downhilldai]

The structure below deck varies from rib to rib. Some have cross bracing, whereas others are clear.
What RIB are you thinking of chopping the deck out of?

[davis]

Not me ,I wouldnt interfere with something thats finished to such a high standard ,such as a deck on a rib, but have heard of someone who was contemplating doing it,and was curious.

[benc]

I saw a hatch being put in the other day, was on a gemini, access was needed to fit a bilge pump below deck, to get any water out. Because of the way the geminis are designed, water can easily get below deck, and you wouldnt necessarily notice... until the boats performance is badly effected.

Inside the hull, we found a load of sealed bottles, they are in there for ballast I believe.

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

The structure below deck varies from rib to rib. Some have cross bracing, whereas others are clear.

And some have fuel tanks! My Hurricane has a 6" port above the fuel tank connection. I used to inspect it from time too time, but now I only do it twice a year...

The tank is almost flush to the underside of the deck, so before this "guy" starts in with the jig saw, I'd suggest getting a good set of drawings from the manufacturer!

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by benc

Inside the hull, we found a load of sealed bottles, they are in there for ballast I believe.

Unless they were full of water or lead I would guess they would be there for buoyancy!

[ALANT]

hope they were made of plastic!

[martini]

I've been looking for a heavy duty deck hatch to utilise the space for storage as well as access. All I could find were glass ones or those flimsy polymer ones but eventually I came across these which look pretty hard core although price to match!
http://http://www.cygnusmarine.com/h...eckhatches.asp

[Julian]

I fitted a heavy duty inspection hatch on our humber to fit a under deck bildge system and to check on the fuel tank etc.

This was easy to do but if you dont know the lay up i suggest you get the drawings 1st etc.

Julian

[indycam]

My hurricane h 733 came with a hatch . Looks and works like a door in a submarine . Looks like a factory job .

[Nos4r2]

I've got a cast ally hatch and a plastic one with an ally frame on Ebay at the mo-here

Not sure if they are what you want though-not flush fitting but very heavy duty.