I love the crew at CLC, but cannot possibly abide with their cup hook hold-down arrangement. Ugh! The attached photo shows what my installation has evolved into: think rails. It results in minimum pieces to make and glue in, yet maximum glue area for holding strength and cover bracing. Works perfectly.

The internal bungee scheme is the easiest way to go, in my opinion, delivers the most return for least effort. But the hold-down pressure required for a good seal is surprisingly minimal. The trick to getting top performance is to take pains to install well-made, accurate-fitting sills or gasket channels. So don't treat the gasket holders as an afterthought; take care and do 'em right. (Ask me how I know all this, sigh.)

I have decided that the One Ocean style fiberglass layup sills are tops, and beat wood ones hands down. Mostly because the finished result lasts longer, protects the gasket far better, and just isn't hard to make.

: Hello Folks,

: My son and I are currently working on a Cirrus SLT Hybrid. The
: build is going very well. I thought we might do the hidden hatch
: hold-down method (inside bungee with hooks on the hatches).

: ClC on their website suggests using one pair of hooks on the center
: of each hatch side. This seems fine for the smaller front hatch.
: But what about the larger rear hatch? I would appreciate
: comments from builders that have worked with internal bungees.

: Thanks