Deck Plate in Cockpit Floor

[Foswick]

Access to the engine compartment is pretty tight on my boat, from the front. The only other access is to remove the floor from the portside cockpit locker and crawl in. (This isn't that big a deal since I am pretty wiry, but still provides limited access.) I am considering installing one or more deck plates in the cockpit floor to improve access. I think that, strategically placed, this could be a maintenance game changer.

But, thinking about it, I can't recall seeing a boat where someone has done this, and it makes me wonder why. (Granted, it isn't something I would have paid attention to, so maybe it is more common than I think.) The obvious contraindication I can think of is the fact that the cockpit gets a lot of foot traffic, ensuring the deck plate is regularly stressed. That might be a problem, but my cockpit floor is covered by a grate. So, probably not a real issue.

Does anyone else have this and/or see any strong reasons not to do it?

 

[jssailem]

Back in 2015, I followed a Louisiana couple rebuilding their Western 30. They put in a new Westerbneke diesel, cut a hole in the cockpit deck, and, when finished, installed a watertight deck plate.

 

[Tally Ho]

How big of plates are you planning to put in? They will need to be pretty large to be useful I think. I put some 4” round inspection ports in my water tanks so facilitate cleaning…but pretty hard to get an arm in there to reach more than the area right under the port.

And in a cockpit, you have to be concerned about strength ( you would potentially be standing in it) and water-tightness (weather-proofness). The cockpit could take a lot of water…will the plates be sealed enough to keep water out?

The cheap plastic ones probably wouldn’t work…but maybe some more expensive metal units would work.

Greg

 

[Foswick]

How big of plates are you planning to put in? They will need to be pretty large to be useful I think.

I've been thinking 6" - 8" (like these: Buck Algonquin Bronze Deck Plate), but need to take a look at exact location possibilities. I am not thinking about being able to do much serious work, but the way things are, it is challenging to simply add coolant or oil. So, I'm thinking about that kind of access, as well as improved inspectability. Also, I wouldn't mind being able to access the transmission without crawling in through that locker.

In any case, having thought about it for more than a quick second, it occurs to me that engine could not possibly sit that far aft because of the mizzen mast. The location of the deck plate would need to be right about where the green circle is below (give or take a little bit port or starboard). That's a much simpler proposition.

I am planning on redoing all of that wood anyway. So, I can just make that section a hinged panel and install a watertight deck plate under it. That might simplify things when it comes time to lift that engine, too, some day.

I built these last fall and decided that if they survived the winter in good shape, I'd finish the cockpit:

This gives you some idea of what I was replacing. The rest of the cockpit isn't this bad, but it isn't great:

 

[jssailem]

Those images shed new light on the challenge. You do not have the room to put in a large plate. If the location is favorable to provide the needed access, what you are describing makes sense. In some boats, the weather deck before the companionway has a bulkhead providing structural support to the hull. Care should be taken in those areas.

 

[PaulK]

If you can position the deck plate you suggest right over the oil fill opening it might be useful - but make sure the funnel fits too. There may be stringers or other support beams crossing the underside of the cockpit that you will not want to mess with, and which could keep you from placing the plate wherever you'd like. You could also go whole hog: Departments - ANCHOR HATCHES ALUMINUM RECTANGLE SINGLE QUICK RELEASE 24" X 48" since the teak grating will hide just about anything.

 

[Dalliance]

Hard to tell without knowing more about your engine room configuration. Structural questions aside, a deck plate at the proposed location so far above where I assume the engine is may be of little practical use. Even if your arm is long enough to reach the engine, it seems like you‘ll need a second opening to see what you’re doing.

 

[PaulK]

According to your profile you have a Fuji 32. This drawing seems to show that the opening would need to be inside the cabin, in the shelf under the bridge deck, not in the bridge deck itself where you show the green circle. FUJI 32 - sailboatdata

 

[Foswick]

According to your profile you have a Fuji 32. This drawing seems to show that the opening would need to be inside the cabin, in the shelf under the bridge deck, not in the bridge deck itself where you show the green circle. FUJI 32 - sailboatdata

Well, the forward half is inside under the companionway steps and the galley sink. The aft half is just about inaccessible, especially on the starboard side, since it can really only be reached by climbing in through the port side cockpit locker.

There are other things like the water heater that currently are virtually unserviceable (aft and to starboard of the transmission).

... a deck plate at the proposed location so far above where I assume the engine is may be of little practical use. Even if your arm is long enough to reach the engine, it seems like you‘ll need a second opening to see what you’re doing.

The top of the engine is about 12" below the level of the proposed opening.

Having a small opening with limited visibility is still a huge improvement over the current no opening and no visibility. One or two strategically-placed openings would be a significant improvement.

When I get back down to the boat, I'll come up with a better plan. When I first thought of this, I had pictured the engine as being more under the cockpit floor, but upon closer consideration, it is farther forward than I had in my mind's eye. I do think that an opening near my green circle will be of some benefit. And, it is pretty low-impact there, since I am redoing that wood anyway. It is more of a "why not" than a "why", in that location.

Other locations will take some more consideration. One additional consideration is that I could put these in to be strategically aligned with certain areas that I might need access to (oil filler, transmission linkage, etc.) But, if I ever replace the engine with a dissimilar engine, some of those strategic locations could be out-of-place.

 

[garymalmgren]

Those deck plates at 6 inches will not allow you to get two hands and a filter in or out.
Would making better access from inside be an option?

 

[Joe]

But, thinking about it, I can't recall seeing a boat where someone has done this,

Does anyone else have this and/or see any strong reasons not to do it?

My friend's Island Packet 31 has just such a feature. The cockpit floor is a water tight hatch... it has a couple of pistons, lifts right up.. voila. Awesome engine and fuel tank access.

 

[Foswick]

My friend's Island Packet 31 has just such a feature. The cockpit floor is a water tight hatch... it has a couple of pistons, lifts right up.. voila. Awesome engine and fuel tank access.

That'd be pretty handy. We are limited to what we can do by the fact that we have a mast right in the cockpit, very near the transmission. So, we could put a hatch or deck plate aft of there, but it wouldn't give us access to much.