Hi David , I was wondering where I saw a photo of that split lasserette hatch , now I know , Sooo T Y , for That !
I want one too !
i am fortunate to have one of the newer BCC’s and of course it has the port cockpit hatch. The locker under is quite cavernous, and i would emcourage folk if they do not have one to consider one. It is really quite useful, and I store water heater all the fenders and spare ropes in there. A spare anchor and a few doz beer as required and still have space for the life raft and more odds and sods. It is a great spot and easy access when coming in to port for fenders etc.
More so there is access behind a panel to the engine, helpful of course for when the exhaust riser falls off (but that is another story) and if you really want to get deep down head first the depths one can plunge are extreme. Might be best to tie a line around your ankles to make sure the first mate can winch you out, boom can be conveniently placed to provide the lever. Just remember don’t drop your cell phone on the way out! Oh yes its been done. If you don’t fancy this kind of extortions, then a small child can be enlisted to do the likes of “burping” the bellows of the PCC shaft seal. Anyway I digress…
Ahoy All , the former BCC Newsletter Editor, explained to me once , why no one wanted a folder and photo file on owner modified fabrications, to their BCC’s .
He told me if such a folder existed , then it would extinglish the fire and interest , we experience when seeing another BCC in port , Hog-Wash I say !
Well it wasn’t until Jeremy then later John got this BCC Forum going, that my photo file wish came true .
A couple of days ago, I was fortunate to cross paths with Capt Mark Fuller of BCC Xiphias, in Phuket, Thailand. Mark has made extensive cabin and deck modifications , all of which has made his BCC unique and comfortable for his use.
He too had a port side cockpit seat deck hatch installed, which quite possibly could fit the older BCC’s with the older coaming . When the dust gets settled down , maybe he could post some photos for us , as he just re-launched after that extensive re-fit and needs to collect himself and take a break, first !
Doug,
I’m still trying to understand why my lazarette hatch slides off with the tiller fore and aft, and yours and Bil’s (and others?) doesn’t. Maybe SLM changed the hatch design? Maybe the hatch’s aft lip was made longer? Our lid hinges slide apart when the lid is raised about 40 degrees, with the tiller fore and aft. Our hinges are bronze–maybe a different design?
I agree that having to put the tiller to port or starboard in order to remove the hatch is not so good when you’re underway. Splitting the hatch seems like a drastic solution though.
Dan
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Hi Dan , T Y , soo v much for the photos , a thousand words , and all that !
Looks like to me that your water channel is much wider than mine , thus allowing more side to side thawartship movement than on my boat.
The split center lasserette hatch arrangement has my attention , because them (sic), two hatches are still secured to the boat, when lasserette access is needed.
What Bil and I experienced is that on passages when we needed to re-fuel , we became exposed to handling a heavy adrift lasserette hatch with no good place to store it during our fuel transfer operation. Also we did not like stopping our boats and rolling about while lying a-hull in rolly sea conditions , making it even more difficult to transfer fuel . We would have liked to motor into the seas , during this process , thus the tiller needs to be in use , and in my boat an autopilot sweeping the tiller over my baja filter in the center of the cockpit floor , can v easily create a sloppy fuel fill, as well .
Ok , both Bil and I manage somehow (Simple Green to the Rescue) to get-by , but we are looking for a better way .
Doug,
I’m still puzzled. I keep checking out my lazerette hatch and wondering why it slides out of its hinges with the tiller in use, unlike yours and Bil’s (and others?). I can’t imagine why SLM would have changed the width of the water channel, but maybe they did. I’m assumming that you can raise your tiller to an upper position (just before it hits the taffrail). Do your hinges look similar to mine?
I notice that the port hatch corner just BARELY clears the deck before the hinges come apart. I wonder if grinding a few mm off the corner of your hatch corner would allow the hatch to slide free (with the tiller centered)?
I agree that there’s no good place to put the hatch once it’s off, which can be a problem at sea. I wonder why you need to remove the hatch in order to get out your Baja fuel filter? I’m guessing you keep the filter in a bucket in order to control the drips, so maybe the bucket can’t make it through the raised hatch opening? Do you need the hatch uncovered during fueling?
I can see some pros as well as some cons to splitting the hatch. We keep our valise liferaft in the lazarette. Our buckets fit through the raised hatch opening, as does everything else we accumulate in that huge storage area. Retrieving stuff often involves hanging head first, up to the waist, wondering why what I need is ALWAYS underneath stuff I don’t need. I’m not sure that a divided hatch would reduce this problem. Better organization might.
Dan
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Ahoy Dan , Gosh , your forum post caught me onboard and with a camera and puter at hand .
What I didn’t realize on my former forum posts , is that your " it slides out of its hinges with the tiller in use," determination , is not what I experience , while underway , using either the tiller pilot or the wind vane , in place , which I need “in place” when making headway into oncoming seas .
I will try to attach two v recent lasserette photos , of the hatch lashed fully open , and closed , with the tiller lashed fully in the up position .
BTW , thanks to you , I did get my lasserette hatch off , by sliding it to stb , but I didn’t have control of steering with the tiller while doing that !
Obviously I try to transfer fuel during calm conditions , but the sea state can be 3 meters or more .
I am not willing to store my Baja Fuel filter and 12V electric fuel pump in the engine room , thus it is designated to a bucket in the lasserette , a small square one at that !
Ok , my photos didn’t post , so I will try one at a time here !
Gee my update didn’t allow attachments , so after making them much smaller , I will try to attach them here .
BTW , the Port Townsend Wooden Boatshow in September , has many wooden boat examples of Lasserette hatches under tillers !
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I have a port locker lid that appears to have been cut from my original cockpit seat, it utilizes a wooden trough to drain any water that comes in through the seams between the lid and deck. This wooden trough was constructed at the Sam L Morse factory PRIOR to the fiberglass locker lid & trough mold being fabricated. My issue is…the trough leaks whenever it rains. In fact, there’s a bilge pump installed in the bottom of the locker to evacuate the water! I would prefer to avoid the probable scaring resulting from trying to match the molded locker lid & trough offered by Cape George Marin Works to my existing non-skid color and pattern. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas how to seal the wood to the fiberglass to prevent the leaks? Should I glass the wood to the fiberglass, or perhaps use a sealant that is capable of flexing as the wood swells and shrinks from atmospheric conditions?
GOOD GOSH , David , Your BCC ROSE , is like a Phonix Bird , resurected from “Davy Jones” , So does that guarntee , a safe passage , on his waters ?
What ever , from what I can see on the pics , you are to be applauded , for bringing “Rose” , back to life , Phew ! Such an Effort , Well the cycle goes both ways , and your “Up Cycle” , time is yet to come , and we all expect it to be a “Grand” one , indeed !
Hang in there , you are “way over” the hump , already , the salt air will be in your lungs soon , and that F/G dust will be a thing of the past . You definatly earned your service stripes !
Thank You for being a wonderful part of our Hess Family , and sharing , your inovative ideas , Many Blessings out Your Way !
Ahoy Dan , new info ! Someone reccommended to me to replace my fixed SS pin - bronze flap hinges , on the lasserette hatch with “Removable” Pin hinges.
That way I could just remove the hinge pins, lift the hatch a little way and slide it forward , out under the tiller when either the vane or tiller pilot is still actively steering the boat .
Well , today I made that modification to removable pin hatch hinges , and Viola (sp-?) , yes that advice is correct.
For security reasons when in port , I will have to use a long “D” shaped padlock bail lock , in place of one of the removable hinge pins , but this seems to be an easy fix, to gain lasserette access, while underway , Phew !
The attached pic shows the hinge with a temporary bolt in place of the hatch pin , but that will be replaced with “Quick Release Pin” from Mc Master-Carr, while at sea !
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Hi Doug,
I’m glad you’ve worked out a solution to removing your lazarette hatch while under way, without heaving to. I notice in your photo that you tied your tiller up to keep it in a raised position. On Shaula, the tiller is a tight fit between the rudder cheeks, so stays in a vertical position. It takes 3 or 4 lbs pressure to shift it up or down and the Aries (or the Autohelm) work OK at any tiller position. This allows me to get out a good sized bucket (after catching a fish?) or my fuel filter from the lazarette while underway by lifting the hatch, but not removing it. Granted, my bucket is empty so I can tip it on its side.
My rudder cheeks are epoxied (unpainted on the inboard side) and the tiller is epoxied and varnished, and the epoxy buildup allows the tight fit.
Pulling your hinge pins is a clever way to remove your hatch without raising it up, but I wonder if you could get your bucket out if your tiller stayed in a raised position while you are underway?
Dan. Shaula
Ahoy Dan , I did a little further checking yesterday , while onboard .
Calliste’s lasserette hatch , ( with the tiller in midship position, and lifted vertically until it contacts the underside of the taffrail ) , will only open to 50 degrees , off the surrounding deck . This creates a 12.5" opening clearence . I loose about 1" of opening, because the Monitor vane tiller fixture is mounted underneith .
When the tiller is lashed to Stb , it takes the hatch to attain at least 75 degrees up off the poop deck to slide the hatch off it’s fixed ss hinge pins.
Removing the fixed SS hinge pins from the hatch hinges, and inserting quick release pins , has been a remedy for me, so far , but I haven’t tried it at sea yet .
In reality , even if I could lift the tiller higher , thus open the hatch further, I would have to dis-engage either the vane control lines, or the Tiller Pilot, not what I want , so removing the quick release pins, raising the hatch up a few inches and sliding it forward, gives me the access I need , while the boat is underway and under tiller control .
Doug,
I wonder why we seem to have our “lazarette access while underway” topic all to ourselves? I checked today and found that my hatch just clears the clamp on tiller for the Aries. It looks like our hatches open about the same amount. My buckets, the biggest thing I routinely get out, are 11.5" in diameter. By tipping them there’s an inch or two to spare. Maybe your bucket for your refueling gear is bigger? Or can’t be tipped due to…?
Maybe that 1" from the Monitor tiller clamp is the difference that kept your hatch hinges from sliding apart? I realize that you’ve modified your hinges, so the point is moot. Anyway, your hinge modification is a big improvement over having to heave-to for access.
For anyone in or headed to NZ, I strongly recommend NZ-made all-plastic buckets–even the handles-very sturdy! I think they’re made for agricultural use.
Dan Shaula