inspection hatch

[dreadnought]

hi all,after a trip out on my semi trad nb before Christmas i got a coal bag around my prop, i had a hell of a job to remove it mainly because of the access to the weed hatch,i had to crawl over a hot engine and somehow had to lift out the weed hatch cover at arms length,it seemed to be a rather simple job turned into a nightmare,so i thought about cutting a hatch in the back deck above the weed hatch to make it a lot easier to access the prop, my question is has anybody done this or does anybody no someone who could do this for me ,i`m in the notts/derby border area, many thanks

[Richard10002]

Sounds like it definitely needs doing. I’d try and make it hinged at the stern, with a couple of supporting legs/props, rather than a panel that lifts out. When you need it, you might need it in a hurry.

 

[David Mack]

Often easier to use a cabin shaft from the bank to pull stuff of the prop than to deal with a badly designed weedhatch. It's what those of us without a weedhatch have to do every time!

[jddevel]

Out of curiosity who was the builder? Mine had one from new immediately in front of the swan neck.

[koukouvagia]

7 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Often easier to use a cabin shaft from the bank to pull stuff of the prop than to deal with a badly designed weedhatch. It's what those of us without a weedhatch have to do every time!

I quite agree.  However, there are occasions when this is a real pain.

I put a hidden weed hatch in Owl.  

 

Because there was plenty of space between the uxter plate and the back deck, I could reach through the weed hatch from inside the boat.  So I was able to put a wooden covering.  

 

 

 

[David Mack]

10 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

 

 

10 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

 

 

 

I bet that would be pain to use. Can you actually get your head and shoulders in so that you can get an arm down the wedhatch to remove whatever and be able to see what you are doing at the same time?

Edited January 14, 2018 by David Mack

[jddevel]

Looking at the pictures makes me wonder whether anyone has every considered a plate glass lid to view during inspections?

[koukouvagia]

10 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I bet that would be pain to use. Can you actually get your head and shoulders in so that you can get an arm down the wedhatch to remove whatever and be able to see what you are doing at the same time?

I was surprised how easy it was to reach right down to the prop shaft.  I had put a trapdoor in the back deck under the wood, but I never used it.

[dreadnought]

1 hour ago, jddevel said:

Out of curiosity who was the builder? Mine had one from new immediately in front of the swan neck.

trent valley boats,

[dreadnought]

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

Often easier to use a cabin shaft from the bank to pull stuff of the prop than to deal with a badly designed weedhatch. It's what those of us without a weedhatch have to do every time!

i`m going to show my ignorance now and ask what a cabin shaft is ? is it a barge poll with some kind of hook on the end ?

[Richard T]

48 minutes ago, dreadnought said:

i`m going to show my ignorance now and ask what a cabin shaft is ? is it a barge poll with some kind of hook on the end ?

Yes it is - they are really useful bits of kit for many functions.

Alex Ramsey at Sileby Mill would be able to modify your rear deck to incorporate access above the weed hatch. Sileby has all the cutting and welding gear required to do the job.

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, dreadnought said:

i`m going to show my ignorance now and ask what a cabin shaft is ? is it a barge poll with some kind of hook on the end ?

Yes. A shaft 6-8 ft long with a hook on the end like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Galvanized-Boat-Hook-Head-250mm/112714979429?hash=item1a3e561865:g:C5sAAOSwAC5ZbgIH

If you are going to use it to pull stuff off the prop you will need a proper steel hook as shown, and not the flimsy plastic or brass ones which may be easier to find in the chandleries.

 

[nbfiresprite]

3 hours ago, jddevel said:

Looking at the pictures makes me wonder whether anyone has every considered a plate glass lid to view during inspections?

I did try once with a 12mm sheet of Acrylic, it worked for a while, but over time it became opaque from the water blasting. 

[Richard10002]

4 hours ago, dreadnought said:

i`m going to show my ignorance now and ask what a cabin shaft is ? is it a barge poll with some kind of hook on the end ?

Boathook might be what you know it as?

[jddevel]

18 hours ago, nbfiresprite said:

I did try once with a 12mm sheet of Acrylic, it worked for a while, but over time it became opaque from the water blasting. 

Thanks for that. Think I`ll have a chat with glass supplier. Trouble is I suppose that the water is bound to contain some damaging items such as sand and gravel.