Access for storage under the Cockpit

[Steve Gully]

I have a Hunter 22 and there is a large finished area under the cockpit. I was on a friends 30' boat and he installed an inspection hatch from West Marine in the floor of his cockpit to have access to his moter. I was thinking about installing one in the floor of my Hunter 22 to have access to the large finished area underneath for light and bulky things. Like extra PFD's, Extra sails, etc.Your thoughts or any experience with this type of hatch.Do you use this area on your boat?

 

[Tony5898]

Last option

My thought on the matter is to exhaust all other options first before cutting fiberglass. Making holes should be your absolute last resort. Down the road there are always going to be maintenance issues and leakage issues. Perhaps find another creative way for getting junk out of the deck area and into the cabin.

 

[kingprawn]

2 issues

Other than cutting the fiberglass. The cockpit drains run through that area, and any bulky item down there could potentially cause damage that would lead to flooding. The second issue is that there are already two ways to get under the cockpit: either through the aft port cockpit seat or through the stbd quarter berth. It's not a convenient access, but it would work for storing things you might not need ever sail. I wouldn't recommend it for any safety gear since it's not very convenient to get to.