: Hello all, I'm closing in on finishing my Great Auk and am pondering various
: ideas for securing hatches. The 'standard' (Nick's) method of cutting the
: hatch out of the deck and flush mounting it seems a good idea but I'm a
: little concerned about using shock cord to secure the hatch and wheather
: it will provide enough downward force to seal it. The rear deck is quite
: flat and I can't see that the shock cord would push the hatch down much
: without some sort of spacer between the hatch and shock cord. Any
: Ideas?...

: Has anyone tried using hinges of some sort and a latch? I'm thinking of
: something like the completely recessed hinges that are often used for
: kitchen cabinets but would have so find some that were either stainless or
: perhaps plastic. In this way you could end up with a much cleaner deck as
: just the latch would be visible. Can anyone think of any obvious problems
: with this idea that I may be missing? Thanks in advance... Keith

I am contamplating another design. Imagine the door latch. The retractable latch will be mounted on both sides under the deck (onto deck suport, of course) and the strike plate will be mounted on the underside of the hatch cover. To seal the hatch, I'll push down on both end directly over the latch. To open the hatch, I'll pull a cable which will retrack both latches. The latch may be modified in any form -- may even be spring loaded D shaped plastic or brass. I'm just thinking. No solid design yet. Anyone want to joint in?