Hinging Options

I'm looking for opinions on what type hinges to use on a hatch door. The hatch will be in the stern behind the seat and give access for the drain plug and a little storage area. I was thinking of a piano hinge but the decking will only be 1/2" Plywood and that will not give much to screw into. I found these stainless hinges https://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=I3VQRSPFZASVNLAQBBJSCO3MCAEFIIWE?id=0004960011932a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=hinge&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_requestid=114649 and was wondering if they would work alright. I realize that they will sit on top of the carpeting but I doubt it should be an issue.

How wide is the hatch you're going to hinge? Are you going to attcah them to the lid with screws or bolt them with a washer and hex nut on the back side? Those hinges should work well, and be sure and use stainless screws/bolts. If it's a real wide span across the hatch you may need 3 hinges minimum. Any pics measurements of the hatch?

Waterwings said:

How wide is the hatch you're going to hinge? Are you going to attcah them to the lid with screws or bolt them with a washer and hex nut on the back side? Those hinges should work well, and be sure and use stainless screws/bolts. If it's a real wide span across the hatch you may need 3 hinges minimum. Any pics measurements of the hatch?

Click to expand...

It's just a small hatch, about 10" square. I need it so I'll be able to get to the drain plug. I've framed and will be putting a second even smaller hatch to access the bildge pump. I will use flat head machine screws and washers/nuts (stainless). The local hardware store has all kinds of SS stuff and you can buy only as many as you need or by the box. That is good if you only need several pieces. I'm pretty sure I'm going with those hinges. I have to run over to Cabela's to see if the store has them (it's only about 3 miles away).
Thanks,
Larry

It's gonna look good! 8)

I'm cheap so I'd probably opt for the full-length piano hinge from the hardware store. The join of lid to hinge is actually quite a bit stronger than you'd think, even in 1/2 inch, because there's a screw every couple inches (and you can add more if you have a drill..) and the load is evenly distributed, just make sure you pre-drill for the screws correctly or the ply will either split or not hold the screw, and use 1/4 or smaller screw in 1/2 ply, 3/16's would be ideal (rule of thirds.)