: I was considering putting a day hatch in my wife's Coho. Has anyone done the
: same? Any suggestions on size, type and source of hatch and lid? Is there
: enough room in the Coho to add such a thing? Any suggestions on placemrnt
: and reinforcement? I'm a little concerned about it interfering with a wet
: re-entry.

: Also, I recall a discussion some time ago about underdeck alternatives to the
: behind the cockpit day hatch. I believe Ross had some ideas on some type
: of bag or compartment mounted of rails under the deck. Can anyone lead me
: back to that discussion or give me their 2 cents on the subject?

Can't speak to Coho installation, but when I built my North Bay --- very low volume, limited access in the original version --- I set up the extra reinforcement pattern on the after deck so that I could install a four inch Beckson or Viking deckplate to use as a day hatch. Limited, but you can get a liter bottle of Gatorade in and out of those things --- barely. Relatively waterproof, although you have to be careful to clean out sand from the threads and replace the "o" ring occasionally. (Also really helps to tether it and to remember to replace it after use!)

As to interference with a wet reentry --- assuming you're not using a wet reentry and roll but a paddlefloat assisted reentry --- these deckplates are very low profile and pretty tough. (I suppose you could even recess them a little during installation, but then you'd have some water accumulating on the top and spilling into the compartment every time you open the hatch.) As a better option, you could build up some sort of semi-decorative or just functional fore-aft strake on either side of the deckplate to keep the paddle blade or shaft from coming into contact with the deckplate.

On the foredeck of my Pintail --- FRG Valley Canoe Products boat --- I have a Viking Marine deckplate incorporating a flange which holds the stiffened top of a nylon bag. Makes a great "glove compartment" in a small boat, with an international orange bag, about four inches in diameter and ten inches long hanging down between your knees. (They also make a "fat bag" if you have enough room.) This system is not very waterproof, and would probably not be a good idea in an afterdeck installation into a bulkhead-sealed compartment. You can find these at racing sailboat outfitters and sometimes at larger marines supply houses.

One final thought --- even the four inch deckplates need some flat surface to mount to, so think about building up a flange of some sort to achieve a flattened deck in the area where you're mounting these things. Larger deckplates require a larger flat area.

Jack Martin