: The Mystery build continues apace. Am laying out where the Maroske
: fittings will be placed and am now struggling (as always) with
: cutting hatches in the deck. Followed Nick's suggestion in the
: plans and crafted the deck with 1/8 thick cedar. One layer of 4
: oz glass on the outside and inside. My question is whether flush
: fitting hatches cut from the deck will resist distorting under
: the strain on internal bungees.

Like the other said, no hatches and flat bags is an option. My latest customer is going that route for his Wahoo FSK build. No decklines either... Fully rigged with Nelo seat and steering hardware from a damaged Viper it should weigh under 30 pounds.

If you still decide to go with flush hatches, I wouldn't worry much. The hatch lids themselves will be fine. On my race layups I usually use a single layer of 3.2oz tight weave E or S (if I can find it) on each side. You shouldn't need a huge amount of tension on the bungees to compress the gasket material.

Concerning the deck: the lip you form on the deck to hold the hatch lid adds a surprising amount of stiffness to the deck. A couple of stiffener beams made out of cedar, laminated with some uni-carbon, placed either side of the hatches can also be added to further stiffen the deck.