Jackson Cuda Hatch Hinge

After seeing the new Jackson Kayak Cuda center hatch hinge set up I wanted it.  I looked on the internet for a few ideas (there weren't many) and came up with my game plan.  I'm a custom furniture maker by trade and so I have lots of small pieces wood around and lots of tools for fabricating something custom.

I started by removing the stand assist strap anchor point. Installing stainless steel eye-bolts in the existing holes.  To get the clearance that I needed and to ensure that the eye-bolts tightened to a robust surface I filled the molded plastic notch where the stand assist anchor is bolted with 1/4" x 1/2" aluminum.  At my local hardware store I bought a u-bolt (3.75 x 6) and bent it.

The u-bolt, when parallel to hatch, is 3/8" off the surface.  I milled a 3/8" thick piece of quarter-sawn white oak to fill in the recess in the hatch.

I took a 1.75" x 3/4" piece of oak and drilled two, 3/8" holes for the u-bolt ends.  I hand planed a little bit off the bottom of the clamp piece to ensure that the clamp will pull the u-bolt down as I tightened the bolts.  Under the gear track (not seen in photos) I used a 6" x 12" x 1/8" aluminum plate to reinforce the tracks and tie the hinge into the area that carries most of the weight the two rear hinge bolts go through the aluminum plate.

After some sanding to remove the sharp corners I finished the wood with a few coats of varnish. Removed the hatch strap that is near the hinge and replaced hardware to fill holes. Now the one hatch strap that is near the seat secures the hatch and the hatch lid lifts easily for on the water access.

Good job! Is this u-bolt made of stainless steel?

The u-bolt is just zinc plated.  I didn't want to invest in a stainless one until I was certain everything was going to work as planned.  The other bolts are stainless.  I might, someday, replace u-bolt with stainless.

Love it.  Nice job!