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Originally Posted by Bunkerbarge I would just offer a word of caution. Engles are verey highly regarded in all thier engineering aspects of thier models and I am certain that they will have tried and tested all possibilities when designing the kits.
All things such as this opening are a compromise between practicalities and strength and I would expect them to have decided that the hole they designed was the best compromise. I am sure that you will be sacrificing strength to remove as much as you are suggesting which could then manifest itself later as a flexible hull which could leak. |
Good points Richard. Naturally I wouldn't be attempting anything this drastic without prior thought and previous experience building this type of sealing system in other hulls. The strength is confered mainly by the 2 bulkhead. The actual hull sides that form part of the pressure hull will be the weakest and most flexible components (and I am not touching these). Once the lid is on and locked down there will be no over all change in rigidity. Considering that my new lid is actually less flexible than the Engel item and I will lock it down with 36 rather than 14 nuts and bolts, I think it will be stronger than the original once sealed. Still time will tell, but I am confident this will will be more secure than the the Engel original.