Fingers and slamming hatches

[Cyrus Safdari]

A buddy badly hurt a few fingers when a cockpit locker hatch slammed shut on his hand, another broke a toe under a deck hatch lid. The first one was using one of them spring contraptions to hold the hatch open & it was accidentally pressed by an object in the locker so immediately collapsed; the second case involved one of those struts that have to be rotated to be tightened and will seem to hold but can suddenly give way if not tightened enough or if they somehow become loose ie vibration...

There must be a better way & I've been looking without luck. Soft closing hinges suitable for marine use that can take the weight of a cockpit locker lid maybe?

When I was a kid we had a school piano in which the fallboard or key lid had a little rubber doohikey mechanism that automatically sprung in the way once the lid was opened,, to block the lid from closing all the way, leaving a gap for little fingers. The rubber bit then had to be pushed away with your thumb from under the lid, to allow the lid to shut all the way.

I wish I remembered more about it but alas music was not my favorite class. It was such a simple straight forward solution. Just pieces of rubber on a spring mechanism that got in the way of a closing hatch & were pushed Back out of the way.

Does anyone know anything similar?

True story: knew a guy who had crawled into a cockpit locker to do some work at anchor. Locker door slams shut. The hasp-style latch prevented him from opening the locker lid from the inside. He had to get very bendy to crawl over the engine under the cockpit & out the other side, dismantling the below deck autopilot etc along the way

[Sailer_Med]

Those lazarette lids are a nightmare. They fall like guillotines. On our boat the rule is ALWAYS attach the lid safety line to the aft rigging when the lid is open. We just use a little bit of line with a carabiner on it to hold open the lid.

I think you could rig all kinds of things to try and stop the lid from smashing completely closed but they will never address all the real issues: getting hit in the head, a foot in the way,...

Can't help with the hatch lid. Ours have an extra hinge in the center that provides hold open tension.

[NYSail]

I have bungie cords attached to every hatch. When opening I strap them to a life line so they cannot close accidentally. It’s one of the first safety things I go over with all guests that come on my boat.

Greg

[JC Reefer]

There is no way around gravity. Hatches can be very dangerous.

I always seem to have people just drop lids closed.

Anchor locker is the bad one on my vessel.

[Peeew]

It’s not too difficult to add gas springs, or struts, to most locker and lazzarette lids. Doesn’t help hatches though.

[ItDepends]

Any of the struts, twist locks or springs that hold hatches open are a tiny error or accident away from a hatch slam on vulnerable body parts. We also have safety lines on every single hatch that we religiously use to support the hatch fully open wherever it is open at all. The boat came from the factory that way, and it is as it should be.

The whole floor of our cockpit opens for access to the engine room. That heavy hatch is supported by gas struts, but we STILL tie it open. Just because.

[thinwater]

Always a safety line and hook unless safely held by gravity. A few bad experiences taught me. And it is just more relaxing.

[ChrisJHC]

Originally Posted by Sailer_Med

Those lazarette lids are a nightmare. They fall like guillotines.

What’s also fun is when your quarter-berth is under the lid and people keep dropping them.
Sounds like a thunderclap right over your head!

[Tetepare]

I’ve always used my head to block the lazarette from taking off my fingers. Done it for decades so it’s second nature. But this year after effectively using my skull to save my fingers, I figured it’s time to start using restraints so at this point some do, and others I still bungee.

The old catalina30 lazarette, which was heavy enough to be a guillotine, came from the factory with a wire keeper and clip. That’s the way to do it.

[leecea]

Originally Posted by NYSail

I have bungie cords attached to every hatch. When opening I strap them to a life line so they cannot close accidentally. It’s one of the first safety things I go over with all guests that come on my boat.

Greg

Same for us - a bungee cord for every hatch.