Galley hatch design question

[dshideler]

I'm in the planning stages of my kuffel creek cubby build and had a question about the design of the back hatch design. The kuffel creek plans call for two curved gussets on either side and long spars connecting them.

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The benroy plans from this site call for 6 curved gussets with short spars in between.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360552664.023482.jpg (73.36 KiB) Viewed 1036 times

For those who are experienced builders which would you say is a superior design and what is your reason.

[LDK]

I used the kuffel creek plans for the cubby also but of course I deviated from it.
On cardboard I just traced the profile of the hatch and instead of using plywood, I used a 2 x 10 pine board that cost $14.00 and made my gussets out of it. 2 would've been enough but I over did it and used 4. The hatch is heavy but it's also very solid.








If you wanted to go that route just trace your hatch profile and if a 2 x 10 board isn't wide enough, you could try a 2 x 12.

[grant whipp]

For 30 years, I've been using the two curved ribs with 4 or 5 cross-beams method ... when fully boxed (sheathing on the inside and the outside), the galley lid is quite strong, stable, and fairly light weight. The only reason I can think of to have more than two ribs is if the trailer is much more than 5' wide (our 7' wide TugDrop will have 4 ribs).

Other's experiences will definitely vary, but, one of the "complaints" I hear most from first-time builders is that they over built it and next time they will build lighter.

Good Luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[webbaldo]

I asked this a few week back and was told that 4 vertical ribs with cross 'noggins' and top and bottom 2x1's is preffered.

It was easy enough to build (cut 4 curves out of plywood) Its fitted and study enough.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I used two vertical curved ribs on my first build (4' wide), and four on my second build (5' wide).

Aside from width, I think your decision also may depend on what you're going to use to skin the hatch. I used 5mm ply (about 3/16") because it was cheaper and more readily available than 1/8" ply. It also resists bending around curves a lot more, which can result in the dreaded "spring-back", where the skin actually pulls on your curved spars and makes them want to straighten out. The 1/8" ply is super flexible and conforms to the curves a lot easier, meaning 2 curved hatch ribs will be plenty sufficient.