THOSE AFT BERTH HATCHES SUCK! THIER GONE!

[BOAT]

Well, nearly breaking my back on those slippery aft hatches I finally got all that chart plotter stuff done – The installation of the chart plotter and the NMEA2000 network, wireless, and Bluetooth was all very easy by just following mastrebs instructions – if you do everything mastreb says it’s really easy and also as mastreb said you can indeed put the entire NMEA2000 backbone network inside the battery compartment – here is a picture of it in the battery compartment:



The only thing about the chart plotter install that I did not like is the angle of the wheelhouse. I tend to sit off to the side and let the helm take care of itself a lot so I actually seldom sit right on the helm seat. In fact – even when I’m docking I usually STAND behind the helm, and docking is pretty much the only time I actually get directly behind the helm unless the water is really really rough (and who needs a chart plotter for docking?), Normally I tend to bounce around in front of the wheelhouse playing with lines and stuff and I occasionally reach back and correct the wheel as needed. So imagine my consternation when I used that nice swivel mount to face the chart plotter towards me for the first time and this is what I saw:



My God! The whole thing is tilting sideways!! Well, that’s just not going to work – so I thought about fishhousebarandgrill and his skills with PVC pipe and I fashioned a new mounting base for the chart plotter like this:

[BOAT]

That’s better! Now I can see the chart plotter at the right angle no matter what way I swivel it:



Now, like I said – the chart plotter was EASY! Just like mastreb said – but there was one part that was INTOLERABLE!!

All that crawling around on the aft berth made all those stupid PVC hatches break!! I know I’m fat – but this is ridiculous!! Every time I need to run a wire I take my life in my hands wondering if I’m going to fall into a hole!!
So, I decided that Rogers boat needed proper hatches befitting a boat!! And they had to work properly! AND THEY HAD TO WEIGHT THE SAME!! (Adding weight to the stern is a no no).
Using wood that is thinner and lighter than the stock PVC hatches but about 7 times stronger I made this:



And the whole floor articulates into an open position to give free access to the bilge – I did put stiffeners over the ballast humps – they are actually attached to the liner – they don’t really rest on the ballast hump:



That made a HUGE difference when squirming around back there doing wires and stuff, and you can lift open one side and lay on the other side they are covered in carpet similar to the hull carpet so it's comfortable to move on even on your knees - the doors can also open one half at a time too (they hinge in either direction at every fold) - it works.

[mastreb]

That's really cool! I'll need to do this for our aft berth, as either the admiral and I or three kids sleep back there, and one of those hatches is always coming up.

[kadet]

Nice job good to see you have it all installed now, have you tested the range of the WIFI yet .
And yes they do

[BOAT]

Wi Fi Is working in my driveway - not sure how far it will go - the bluetooth paired up pretty fast with an Iphone.

Yeah, those aft hatches are just WRONG - The factory should not have done it that way. If the Tattoo still has those it's really bad form.

What I like about these new hatches is that they are attached to the boat with hinges way over on the port side and the starboard side, and the boards all fold in either direction so you can open only one board or two or all four. In this shot you can also see mastreb's "ballast vent to the rear mod" which really eliminated the odor from the ballast tank in the front and makes everything work at the helm seat:



The doors lay flat, are very light, and make an excellent working space if you need to do things under there, or even a nice play area for the kids:

[Obelix]

Great mod, Boat
Could you please give specifics what kind of wood at what thickness and what type of hinges you're using and the weight of the mod
I'm heavy myself and laid exterior plywood over the existing structure in my but this is rather heavy stuff. I like your solution a lot better and could most likely take some weight out of the back.

Obelix

[Russ]

Nice job on both the pedestal and aft berth covers. I've broken one of those plastic things already. They just don't work.

[BOAT]

I am one of those KREG JIG guys - I got that way from building my RV interiors (that's how the van conversions are made - with KREG JIGS) I used sand-ply from Ecuador, readily available from home depot. It's the plywood that has a veneer side so you can finish it if you like with varnish - the other side is a paint grade - the extra bonding of a solid front with a ply back makes it very strong but extremely light, I have used it to make doors and cabinets in my van in the past because when used as a skin on a frame it gives the illusion of being a solid piece of wood - that's the KREG JIG way of building stuff strong and light - if you want to go a bit stronger try a cedar veneer or even a mahogany THIN like as thin as the PVC stock hatches. Then I cover them entirely with headliner glue and WRAP them in carpet - the real light flimsy carpet also at home depot in cheap rolls. The carpet forms the hinges between the boards, and two simple strap hinges ties the whole thing down at the far right and left sides so the boards can NOT slide or move no matter how they are folded - they are anchored to the boat by those strap hinges. The cheap carpet does NOT stretch so it makes a good hinge. You can't open the part of the berth to the very rear because the doors would bang into the steering bars if you went all the way to the back so that short part to the very rear (the last 8 inches) is solid, does not open - but for access it's fine - I can reach around 8 inches easy. On that last 8 inches just make one solid piece all the way across and screw it down -

It does not weight much at all - I was carrying both folded carpeted port and starboard hatches under my arm as I climbed up the rear ladder into the boat - I could not even do that with all four of the stock hatches under my arm. Just make sure you use LIGHT CARPET! NOT heavy home carpet! The real thin light indoor outdoor area rug stuff. The entire roll of carpet was less than a pound. The only real weight I ADDED was beefing up the area over the ballast vents - I figure that's about 2 pounds of sanded redwood, (an oily wood as an alternative to teak) but if your a rich boat owner go for the teak - it's even stronger than redwood and LIGHTER. Ever notice how strong your companionway ladder steps are? That's cuz the're TEAK. (Even Roger was superstitious enough to know that you NEVER build a sailboat without at least SOME teak in the construction). Otherwise - it's not a sailboat.

I will be adding a little bit of teak to the companionway hatch too in the gap between the sliding hatch and the removable companionway door - teak smells good to the ocean gods - they like it and will let you pass unharmed.

[RobertB]

I tried a simple mod to hold the Starboard covers (no relation to the port covers, the material is Starboard I believe) in place since they seem to work if they actually stay where they are supposed to be - but are easily moved when working "back there". I attached Velcro to both the hatches and the floor grid - two places per cover. To get adhesion to the starboard, I gently scuff sanded and then solvent cleaned both hatch and gel coat. So far, this had prevented any "fall throughs".

This is only an issue on the for the fore and aft berth access covers - the covers under the seats all have a locating screw (and I have covered these with a bit of heat shrink tubing to prevent scratches).

[BOAT]

The hatches under the galley are fine - Roger did okay on those - the PCV is a great substitute for plywood on small hatch covers. They work okay in the bow berth, but slip around - I will just add the set screw to the starboard bow berth hatch, but on the port hatch where the vent hole is I have a little surprise coming for you folks - an interesting mod I am installing in that compartment that will require that hatch to be on a hinge. I will reveal when done. (It's a "wife driven" mod; that's your hint).

As for the dinette, well another "wife driven" mod - after she saw the interior of Rogers 65 footer she decided she wanted the dinette redone to be like Rogers dinette in the big boat, (remember, the M was modeled after the 65 footer) - I'm not changing the size of the dinette in 'boat' but adding a backrest all the way around like Rogers and adding seating against the hull (that was the 'cocktail seating' of the 70's - the table will be removed most of the time and MUCH smaller and NOT attached to the hull on one side). I only need dinner seating for three max, most the time only two. Rogers big 65 is in the classic 70's tradition of the 'grand salon' and his is even complete with black upholstery, but I can't do the black - I can do his upholstery though - in the classic 70's style. It will go right along with the raccoon stripes. Hey, I bought a MAC, I'm not trying to make it look like anything but a MAC.

Out here in California the 70's stuff is very trendy, (although I'm not ready for an avocado green kitchen or harvest gold bathroom we do still enjoy hot tubs and have a crock pot we actually use and even do fondu on the boat! Fondu is a perfect cockpit appetizer because all you need is Sterno! Been doin fondu in the cockpit since before alcohol stoves!) Hey, trailer-able sailboats were INVENTED in the 70's - embrace the reality guys. You have a boat designed in the 70's by a 70's guy - accept it like an old Corvette, it is what it is, or you could try to mask what it really is and pretend it's something else (get a Tattoo i guess), but I'm going with the classic 70's MacGregor look all the way. It's that whole Star Wars thing - Darth Vader and stuff.

I have been working on a drawing for the dinette for like a month - but I keep putting it on the back burner. When the drawing is done I will post it.

[Obelix]

Boat,

Thank you for your explanation. Please forgive my ignorance, I looked all over the Home-Depot site and could not find any ply with either "Sand-Ply" or "Ecuador" in the description. The only ply I found that that could possibly work is:
"1/4 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Moisture-Resistant Plywood Underlayment, Model # 431178, Store SKU # 492930"
Is this similar to the ply you used? If not, could you please point me to the correct material you purchased?

Thank you for your assistance.

Obelix

[BOAT]

Every Home Depot should have it right on the shelf - it's like the number one project board for amateurs like me. Here is a link:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/5-2mm-1-4-In ... e1oHndIHFl

Be careful, the wood is very thin - if it's not properly braced you could put a knee through it before it's carpeted if you weight more than 250 pounds. It's the combination of the hinges, carpet, and braces that makes it all work - it's a 'system' (that's the only way to make it really light).

[Hardcrab]

Nice work.
For those who think they can't do something like this, try using good old sticky sided velcro on the edges of the stock panels/openings.
Full length is not required, but several 4" pieces spread out around the perimeters seem to do fine.
(To much velcro and you play h#ll when you go to remove a panel).

It keeps the panels from flexing, the main culprit.
Cheap, simple and very effective at stopping crash throughs, at least when the mattress is in place.

It might be the perfect answer if you don't have the skills for the better homemade solution.

[BOAT]

Yes, Velcro would work great - I have a real hatred for the sticky back part of Velcro - when I use it in my van and i travel to hot places the sticky back gets gooey and the Velcro gets real icky and I don't like it. I have removed all the Velcro with sticky back - i noticed Roger does not like sticky back Velcro too - he uses dry screw down Velcro for the head door. I think snaps might be a good option too; but really, if i were going to keep the old hatches (I can't - their broke) what I would do is put slot hinges on one end that hook into slots in the liner, and a dowel pin at the other end.

Slot hinges are those hinges that are really just hooks - they only curve in about a half circle and you place them in slots with the door in the up position and when you lower the door it makes the curved hinge lock down.

[RobertB]

I have used the sticky back Velcro solution for two years now with no problems. To me, the key is to use a good product and prepare the surfaces correctly. I found that two pieces about 3 inches long per board works well. See previous post for surface prep.