Connie, You are certainly full of good ideas! I presume you mounter the rectangular hatchs on the vertical surface under the seat. I may put one in just for convienience! Thanks for the idea. Doug Kelch "Seas the Day" --- chbenneck@juno.com wrote:
Hi Bill,
After reading all the stories about the problems of installing a lift motor mount in an M15, I decided to do it the easy way and cut an access hole and install a port.
What I did was install a rectangular access hatch between the aft end of the sail locker and the end of the cockpit.
It gave me excellent access to the area of the stern where I installed a backing plate (plywood) and then the Fulton lift motor mount.
From reading other postings, a smaller round hatch would probably have done the job as well, however:
how do you install a backing plate through a 8 inch diameter hole?
Isn't it a lot easier to work through a larger area?
My large hatch now give me a second sail locker for access to items stuck all the way aft. I keep my fenders there; my cleaning bucket and cleaning materials; and I find it a big improvement, because formerly all those items lived in the same space but were hard to get.
Now it is just open the lid and reach in..............
I don't remember exactly whose hatch I picked, but WEST Page 467 - Bomar Inspection Hatches - Model 411597 10 1/4" x 14 1/4" flange OD will give you the idea.
My feeling was: if I am going to have to cut an access hole to do the motor mount installation, then let's increase utility by making it another sail locker lid.
Connie
M15 #400 LEPPO
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