Kent,

When building the lip for my Guillemot hatches, I did try to drop the cover below the deck a bit for that reason. I had mixed success. One hatch came out perfect for 1/8" neoprene hatch tape, the other wasn't quite deep enough. For that hatch I used the silicone/urethane sealer trick on the hatch cover to get a perfectly flush hatch. If (when) I do this again, I'll probably just recess the cover about 1/16" below the surface of the deck, build the lip, and use the sealer method.

Ross