Fourth strake no.2 & inspection hatches

There!
Fourth strake no.2 finally glued.

As planking is progressing I reached the stage that I should install water-tight inspection hatches on midships flotation tanks. Next strake will cover them and installation will be more troublesome afterwards.

Initially I wanted to make them from brass - I found nice hatches at Toplicht. However - their cost is prohibitive and they have latching screws which stick out after the hatch is closed. Not good - they will be mounted on floor level so I will probably stand on them quite often.

They need to be flush with the sole boards.

I was checking how others did that and found some nice DIY wooden hatches on Wooden Boat Forum. However - they were either gimmicky to make and operate or had knobs/screws which were sticking out. The only construction which was somehow plausible had surgical tubing as a seal and small tabs on sides which held all pressed down. However - to make this hatch looking nice requires CNC-machining. Not an option for me at this stage of my build. Without CNC precision the solution is likely to be less-than-watertight.
I skipped it.

In the end I changed my mind about plastic hatches. They have advantages: they are proven to not leak, they are very cheap (87 SEK), easy to open and they are flush with decking. What not to like?
Plastic, that is.
It goes kind of not well with wooden boat but let’s face it - my boat is epoxy-plywood construction. As much as I like to pretend it is a classic wooden boat - it is not. Epoxy is plastic. Plywood is… well, plywood. The boat looks and feels like a wooden boat but it is a modern construction.

Besides, these hatches have an important function - they shall keep me afloat should I capsize and need to rely on buoyancy to rescue myself. No room for compromises here. I go with ready-made and proven solution.

Dry-fitting to determine most comfortable position.
Now I need to get 140mm hole saw and make these holes.