Lazarette Hinge Arrangments

[pez_leon]

I'm close to cutting thwarts, seats, and floors for my Vivier Seil 18 and would appreciate your thoughts on the arrangment of the lazarette. The area in question is highlighted in this picture, which shows the hull as it stands today.



This compartment will be covered with seat boards, but should be hinged and latched to allow access. This picture of Ben Ullings's boat shows the idea


On comparable boats, there seems to be some kind of beam just ahead of the transom to support a small fixed deck into which butterfly hinges are set. These images of John's beautiful Ilur show this (Pictures from Small Boats Magazine).




I don't have such a beam and so should probably set my hinges into ether the transom or the cleat on the transom that will support the seats. (The hinged part of the seats will be carefully joined into one cohesive unit). I think the barrel of the hinge needs to be above the level of the seats so that they can hinge up and open.

[pez_leon]

I'm not quite sure what the best approach would be. One option would be something like this:


https://duckworks.com/stainless-short-side-door-hinge/

With the short side screwed into the transom below the level of the seats, and the long side set flush into the top of the seats. But that would have to be installed upside-down to sit flush with the transom.

I have also considered buying some long stainless strap hinges and bending them to fit the profile of the transom/cleat on one leg and the seat on the other. Something like this:



(Side view. One leg of the hinge is shown in red, the other blue. The barrel is where they meet.)

I suspect there are better, probably simpler options and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

James

[pez_leon]

It's amazing what you notice in the minutes after posting something on the internet for everyone to see. I zoomed in on the picture of the Seil above and now see what I think are some relatively simple hinges, visibly attached to the transom above the seat. So that's clearly an option too, and probably a good one!

- James

[stromborg]

What about changing the hinge orientation 90 degrees? Build the lid in two pieces that hinge off the two bulkheads running fore and aft with a centerline seam between the two lids. Pivoting off the transom means the tiller is in the way (unless you remove it first) and you end up with a big piece of wood to tie up or it will eventually come crashing down on somebodies fingers. Smaller ones would flop open all the way. or at least far enough to be relatively safe.

Just a thought

[pez_leon]

What about changing the hinge orientation 90 degrees? Build the lid in two pieces that hinge off the two bulkheads running fore and aft with a centerline seam between the two lids.

I like it a lot! You raise some very compelling points. I think the hinge for this arrangement would be set into the long side benches, which may or may not be connected to those fore and aft bulkheads. (The plan shows no connection, and they are neither particularly rigid nor particularly straight. They function only to contain buoyancy foam in those two distal compartments).

Thanks, Steve!

James

[John hartmann]

But small cleats on the outside/upper edges of those fore&aft bulkheads would stiffen, straighten, and provide anchoring places for the hinges without adding significant weight.

[Larks]

What about changing the hinge orientation 90 degrees? Build the lid in two pieces that hinge off the two bulkheads running fore and aft with a centerline seam between the two lids. Pivoting off the transom means the tiller is in the way (unless you remove it first) and you end up with a big piece of wood to tie up or it will eventually come crashing down on somebodies fingers. Smaller ones would flop open all the way. or at least far enough to be relatively safe.

Just a thought

That was my immediate thought as well, they’d clear the tiller and you could open either side independently while still sailing.

[Woxbox]

Left and right halves by all means. It would be a pain to open it otherwise -- too big. I'd cut out some cardboard shapes for the various options, use tape for hinges, then sit in the boat and see how easily each option opens, how the access is, and where the hatch lands if you want to open it fully.

I would also add a beam aft, deck the space behind it -- about 8" -- and put the hinged pieces over the forward section. This way they won't hit the knees when opened up and you'll have a shorter span to support the weight the hatches will take when used as a seat, stood on, etc.

[Slacko]

I changed the back of the cockpit of my yacht a few months ago and ended up with the attached photo.


They are pretty big, so you wouldn't want to be opening them at sea, but they swallow all sorts of gear.
They hinge from the centre.
The catches are still a work in progress the under deck, but it works so far.
At a pinch the starboard one could make a nice berth at anchor if you want to get out of the main cabin!

[pez_leon]

Thank you all for your responses! Everyone agrees to a remarkable extent. I'll glue cleats to the top of those bulkheads tonight and will likely go with the left and right suggestion. I'll keep you all posted.

- James

[Aryoch]

Hi James, I went with the simple option.. Just toggled the boards down.
0-1.jpg0.jpg
It works okay.

I was concerned that it needed to be able to be clambered over so there is a reasonably stiff piece running across the middle underneath the boards that also sits on a cleat on each of the sides.

Figured see how I went and that hinges could always be a future project. I'm not sure if I will ever store an outboard in there (as per the plans) or not.

Cheers,
Adrian