transom hatch

[dogdoc]

I have been working on the dc side of my 280 marlin and very frustrated with the lack of access to the bilge, battery charger and batteries. I have removed the fold down seat on the cockpit side of the transom and would like to enlarge the small hatch which allows access to the battery charger and bilge. I can barely get my head in and installing the new charger was a real pain. Any suggestions appreciated

 

[Mr.crab]

Replaced all everything in my 2000 Marlin, they are all tight .

 

[Mr.crab]

Almost

 

[DennisG01]

I have been working on the dc side of my 280 marlin and very frustrated with the lack of access to the bilge, battery charger and batteries. I have removed the fold down seat on the cockpit side of the transom and would like to enlarge the small hatch which allows access to the battery charger and bilge. I can barely get my head in and installing the new charger was a real pain. Any suggestions appreciated

It's not uncommon (at all) to be doing things by "feel" only when working on boats. Kinda just the name of the game sometimes. But... Do you have a pic of the area? Or, is there physically enough room to ad a bigger hatch? Take a look at the hatches on TH Marine's website - would something there work for you? If you have the room, get 'yer saw out and have at it!

 

[Fishtales]

pic would help.

 

[dogdoc]

the hatch on the left would like to make it bigger and open with hinges on top. not sure of the dimensions of current hatch. i did look at some hatches online and seems i could expand the height but probably not much width

 

[DennisG01]

You're right - not a whole lot of room there. But... once you get the charger squared away, how much access do you really need in that spot on a regular basis that it makes sense to change the hatch?

Consider a removable hatch instead of a hinged hatch. That way the door is completely out of your way.

What type of access would a hatch on the outboard side of the area give you?

 

[Fishtales]

You could enlarge it to the max size you can, but likely won't buy much. There are negatives of changing the door opening as well (up or down), prob best to stay on the side. A removable might work, but you need to find something that doesn't shake rattle and roll. Maybe some sort of quick disconnect hinge? I don't think you have a lot of options.

 

[DennisG01]

Something like this: https://thmarinesupplies.com/collections/hatches/products/designer-series-hatches-removable