hatch opens up or down?

[PonyExpress]

What's the appeal of having a hatch that opens upwards rather than down? Tradition, shade, larger opening? I've been wondering if I'd rather have the extra counter space of a drop down hatch held at 90 degrees by a couple of chains. A flat panel hinged at the bottom seems a lot simpler to build with less complicated hinges and more likely to be water tight. Also, I've got this nightmare of some gust of wind taking a open-upwards hatch right off down the canyon. There may be something I'm missing that experience knows. Please correct me if I'm headed in the wrong direction.

Thanks.

[nevadatear]

To me it seems counterintuitive. Water tight problems are not the hinge but where doors come together. To me it seems destined to leak. Plus you couldn't open the hatch without a awning of so e kind in the rain I like the extra protection of my hatch in the wind when I am cooking as well. our old camping chuck box was set up that way, with a drop down front that worked as a counter, so there is precedence . However with the depth of the counter plus the lid, it seems very deep and hard to lean over to get something stored in the back. Just my thoughts.

I have no concerns about my hatch leaving in the wind. That thing is stout. However, I do have concerns without the overhead protection from above when open all my food and stuff would leave. How would you protect from overhead rain getting in? An overhang of some kind?

Maybe I am not visualizing the same way as you, but I am seeing a shallower galley since you have the counter in front and not in the galley. This could be good to keep the length at 8 ft ..

[les45]

I wondered the same thing when I designed my weekender so I built both. A short, simple, lightweight hatch that swings up and a short tailgate that swings 180 degrees down for easy access to the galley countertops. This eliminated all the complexities of the one piece angled hatch as seen on most weekenders. I don't have a current pic since I've got everything apart for painting, but this is how it looked when I was framing. Hope to have final build pics in a couple of weeks.

[eamarquardt]

I wondered the same thing when I designed my weekender so I built both. A short, simple, lightweight hatch that swings up and a short tailgate that swings 180 degrees down for easy access to the galley countertops. This eliminated all the complexities of the one piece angled hatch as seen on most weekenders. I don't have a current pic since I've got everything apart for painting, but this is how it looked when I was framing. Hope to have final build pics in a couple of weeks.

I'm not gonna do it this way but when I read the question what you're doing is exactly what I thought of. If the bottom hatch goes under the top when closed, I'd think the result would be as leak free as conventional hatch. I'm not entirely convinced that a hatch that opens upwards offers that much protection from the rain.

Cheers,

Gus

[les45]

I forgot that I had a later pics showing the hatches in place with temporary hinges. You can see the overhang in these pics. The top of the tailgate will get a rubber D gasket to fit against the top hatch when it is closed. I figure between the gasket, the slope, and the overhang, it should be fairly watertight. Tailgate also fits to seals on the sidewalls on each end. No seal on the bottom of the tailgate since it sits on a ledge with an internal lip that is sealed with epoxy and painted.

[PonyExpress]

Nice idea les45. You get the best of both up and down hatches. Also, thanks for reminding me about how effective a simple overhang can be to take the stress off the seals. I'd love to see your weekender painted.

It's good to know that up hatches don't feel like they are going to blow off. Those things must be stouter than they look.

Right now, I'm designing a rounded front/flat back 5x8 tear - kinda bullet shaped. That's where the down hatch idea came in. I want the maximum interior space by moving the kitchen back and using the hatch for the counter. Sounds like I'll need either an overhanging roof or drip guard.

Thanks for the ideas.

[KCStudly]

As I understand it, the trick to making sure that your hatch doesn't flip over backwards is to either use hydraulic lift struts that are anchored at both ends, or to pin your prop rods so that they can not pull up.

Easy peasy with a simple hitch or quick pin.