Thanks! Are you finishing the backside of the hatches at all, or just leaving them raw? That's my biggest hesitation with doing my own hatches over the drop in ones...what they look like on the backside when opened. Probably a little OCD, but figured I could probably cover the staples and cut lines with some aluminum flat or something.
I'll be following along on the riv-nut installation. I've considered them as well, just never really seen anyone put them in practice. I put my deck down with the thought process that I'll never be tearing it up again, but I can see there usefulness in many applications.
I have no problem with leaving them as sealed plywood. If I wanted a more finished look I could cover them easily enough (Livewell will have a liner, for example, but that's not installed yet.
Already did the main deck and aft casting deck with the rivnut combo. Worked well, once I have up on trying to overachieve with clearances.
- Test-fit panel.
- Drill holes through panel + aluminum frame/bracing underneath. I used 10-24 hardware and started with my 3/16 rivet drill bit...but 1/4 was a much better choice.
- Remove panel
- Use the initial drill holes as pilot holes for the larger riv-nut hole
- Install rivnuts
- refit panel
- test-fit screws to make sure I didn't screw up
- goop them up with sealant and reinstall
- tighten down.
They hold well. Lets you pull things into position in a way that rivets can't (or sheet metal screws which the PO had used and were starting to pop free at times). You can really get things TIGHT and conformed to the sometimes imperfect profiles that inevitably pop up. Easy removal and reinstallation - with that slight alignment tolerance that's really nice (and that I ultimately wonder if some imperfect sealing there is gonna kill my floor panels slightly ahead of schedule)
Had a fuel sender spring a leak and was able to pop the panel off to diagnose, replace the panel after a dab of sealant, then remove the panel and replace the sender for a more permanent solution quite easily. Probably pop either that segment and/or one of my side segments to route hoses for the livewell too.
And my casting-deck motor cover I can open as a hatch for most maintenance, but also remove panels completely if I need to get at something tucked away. I get a more useful (to me) complete enclosure but also the 270 degree accessibility of a doghouse if I really need it.
