Deck Lid Help

[Airspeed]

I did my hatch with 3/4" AC 1 1/2" wide running vertical. I covered the inside and out with 3/16" luan. I can lift the hatch at one corner without any flex. I also ran a row of horizontal spars in the middle and at the sharpest point to the rear. Aaron

[Alphacarina]

I used 1/8" Baltic birch ply on my tear. This wood is so flexible that it literally falls around the curve of the hatch by its own weight! When glued and screwed to the spars and ribs it exerts virtually no "unbending" force, making springback a non-issue. I added a second layer of 1/8" over the first to get a 1/4" thickness. My hatch has no vertical ribs except the outside edges, which were cut free from the tear sides after the hatch was skinned

Sam,

Where did you find the 1/8th sheets of birch? Can they be had in 4 X 10 sheets (to save waste for someone building wider than 4')? What did you use to make the beautiful cut after the rear hatch was skinned?

Thanks,

Don

[Roly Nelson]

Canuck, will the hatch ribs be exposed, or are you planning on covering the top and bottom of your hatch with plywood? For what it's worth, I used 2 layers of 1/8 inch and left the ribs exposed. My ribs are laminated out of 2 pieces of pine, probably a bit of over-kill. I had no springback what so ever.

Roly ~~

[Canuck]

So Far... The plan is to cover both inside and out
But i havnt figured out how i will finish the outside
I'm still trying to find 5' x !0' x 1/8 ply