The port lids at the stern

The port lids at the stern are also missing from the manual. They are on the drawing, but because I follow the written manual I occasionally miss that kind of detail. So now to catch up.

For the lids at the stern I first made a small template, so I get the openings in the right place. Then I made the lids. Next I cut out the opening around the lids. Now the hinges, and paint them black.

Three options for the hinges

Then I got confused. I would expect the hinges to be fixed partly to the hull as well, but looking at the hinges it seems they are meant to go entirely on the lid (option 3 in the photo). Option 1 would also be possible, with the thicker part on the hull. Option 2 does not look logical, but on the other hand the lid does not sink fully into the opening, so the thicker part would actually touch the hull. After some deeper thought: it is option 3, of course. The lid itself would be held with eyelets and cord, otherwise it could no longer open and close.

Piet chose option 1 for his closed lids, which was possible because his lid sits entirely in the rebate and lies flush with the hull. For open lids you bend the thick part over at a right angle and fix it to the hull, officially at least; beyond that, in his view, it does not matter much. He did have different hinges, by the way: on mine he counted three holes, on his five. Jan also thought of option 1, with the rectangular part bent over at a right angle as a gluing surface, unless the lid stays closed.

I chose option 3 after all, which seemed a bit nicer in terms of proportion. In hindsight I should have glued at least half of the thick part onto the hull. Ah well, not much of it is visible and this looks quite decent too.

Because I still found it a bit odd to give the lids no hinge on the hull at all, I glued small brass pieces against it. You can hardly see them now they are black, but they are there.