Amazing coincidence. I got home last night and my Shearwater catalog
had arrived! So I got to see a photo of Eric's binocular hatch. Not a
bad idea if I can come up with the right position for it.

: Patsy-

: Eric Schade of Shearwater boats makes a hatch next to the cockpit that he
: calls a "binocular hatch." It has a hinged lid and there is a
: tray mounted under the deck about (I'm guessing) 6" deep. The lid has
: a gasket just like your deck hatches do, and it has a knob closure device.
: He sells the knob closure on his website. I tried to find you a picture of
: the hatch but I could not find it. He mounts the hatch in front of the
: cockpit, but you could possibly move it to one side or behind the cockpit
: and still have room for your deck bag. Hope that helps. Option two: Get a
: pelican case and lash it to the deck. They don't leak and are easy to open
: and close.

: -Malcolm