Val,

Hitting both the boards are you? I was going to respond on the CLC Forum, but I'll do it here. I would recommend the Viking deck plate with a bag. Viking appears to have a better gasket than the Beckson - and the threads don't seem to get fouled as much. I installed the Viking (with a bag, which is removable) as a day hatch on my North Bay just aft and to the right of the coaming. I glued a ring of 4mm okkoume around the top of the cut-out (like the coaming spacers), then sanded it flat to remove the radius. The hatch is bedded in silicone (not 5200!) in case I need to remove it at a later date. A single spacer was adequate on my lesser-radiused NB, but you might need an extra spacer on the 17LT. This leaves a relatively flat aft deck that will not interfere with re-entries like the raised VCP hatches will. This approach will also not collect water like the recessed VCP hatches tend to do. Viking hatches are available at Annapolis Performance Sailing (link below). My only complaint is that I had to make a tether for the deck lid, but that is no big deal. I chose the Viking over the Beckson on the advice of Ben Fuller, who reports he has had good luck with them.