> For my second boat, I wanted flush-mounted hatches with internal
> restraint. This is what I ended up with, and so far so good.

> It's basically a pulley system, tied off inside the cockpit with and
> ordinary rope cleat on the 1/8" dacron line. The more pulleys you
> install, the greater the mechanical advantage, but also you use more line
> (and have more in the cockpit to secure out of the way).

> The obvious drawback is that this divides the compartment in half right
> there at the hatch, then you have a line passing to the bulkhead. As
> almost all my paddling trips are day trips, this isn't much of a hassle.
> Indeed, I have tried to pack in all my camping bags and such, and while it
> isn't as easy to load as an undivided compartment, it can be done.

> "Better"? Maybe. Doesn't leak, looks OK. Relatively simple. May
> not be appropriate where packing larger bags. Uses a lot of line that ends
> up in the cockpit.