how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

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simeoniii
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Re: how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

Post by simeoniii »

Rob, I think you will be fine structurally. Your lower sill is a good enough height from the sole so a bow-down fullish cockpit of water shouldn’t cause problems.

Overnighting in 2012 with SCAMP #1 tied to the dock, Josh and I were ashore with other pocket yachters cooking dinner in a bit of a shelter when it went from drizzing to really raining. The boat was bow down with most of our gear forward and no tarp-tent rigged yet. Without a footwell, we soon found that an inch or two of rain water on the sole will pile up nicely on the bottom edge of Bulkhead-3. We learned a few lessons there. Here’s a short video of the inbound transit from Ratt Island to Fort Flagler.

https://vimeo.com/157044056
Simeon
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ramonred
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Re: how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

Post by ramonred »

Thanks for posting this video, looks like it was a great sail.
Ramon #428

"...This is not mysticism, but identification; man, building this greatest and most personal of all tools, has in turn received a boat-shaped mind, and the boat, a man-shaped soul.." John Steinbeck The Log from the Sea of Cortez
Rob Hazard
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Re: how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

Post by Rob Hazard »

Hi Simeon,
Yes, I realized when I found that photo of my B-3 hatches that I'd located them a good deal higher off the sole than I remembered. They are about 8" up, which should be plenty to keep rainwater out of the forward compartment, especially considering drainage into the footwell.
I had left enough height not only for a compass, but to mount the block for stowing the 8ft oars as well. Those oars have since been replaced by a pair of 2-piece 9ft Gig Harbor oars, which make rowing a Scamp much easier. The new oars stow behind the coamings as Howard and others have discussed elsewhere.

When I laid out those hatches, I took a piece of old plywood with the B-3 outline penciled onto it, and cut a progressively larger opening until I had a hole I could fit through with one arm over my head, so I could reach in wherever I might need to. Beyond that I tried to leave the bulkhead as intact as possible, for the reasons we've been discussing here.
I've been away from the boat for nearly a year and a half now, and I can't wait to get her out for a sail this summer!
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simeoniii
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Re: how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

Post by simeoniii »

Thanks for the info. I just measured the lower sill of my B-3 hatches and they measure as 9” above the sole. The lowest measurement I would recommend is 6” which corresponds in height to the bottom of the B-3 cut-out slot for the mast box.

In my opinion, you do need to have those hatches large enough to get your head and shoulders in, along with one arm :-)
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Rob Hazard
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Re: how big can the hatches be in the third bulkhead?

Post by Rob Hazard »

Agreed!
As I was building Puffin I kept monitoring this forum to see what cool tweaks and bright ideas were coming to light. I was intrigued with how the design was being crowd-sourced, and even held back a few times to see what others thought before committing to one detail or other.
The footwell was a major upgrade, and I had a long conversation with Howard about how big it should be. I absolutely LOVE being able to sail the boat standing up with the cuddy-top to hang on to for security. It feels like sailing a "Proper Yacht"! :)

On the B-3 hatches, I decided early on that I wanted to be able to reach every square-inch of the boat from the inside, just in case I needed to one day.
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