Bad design - spring hatch loop ...

Your idea of a simple peice of webbing makes perfect sense to me.

Simple, cheap, nothing to go wrong, easily replaced if neccessary.

Why complicate things?
I currently have a piece of cord with a toggle on the end for my anchor locker lid as the recessed finger latches as in #1 are bl00dy useless if stood on when open.

Another plus is my bit of string acts as a retainer when anchor locker lid is open. It neatly catches in the guard wire termination at the pulpit.
 
I currently have a piece of cord with a toggle on the end for my anchor locker lid as the recessed finger latches as in #1 are bl00dy useless if stood on when open.

Another plus is my bit of string acts as a retainer when anchor locker lid is open. It neatly catches in the guard wire termination at the pulpit.

The use of webbing etc has also had me wondering about hingeing the two side 'floors' - but they are wider than the height of the seat frames over them. The 'floors' need lifting and then moved aside.

I have considered changing to pedestal seats ... but the originals actually slide fore - aft same as car seats on the frames.
 
Unless you need them flush mounted (if e.g. walking on them without shoes or placing things like cooler boxes on top), the cheap and simple variants could do.

On mine the hatches are supported by cheap spring holders. Fine as long as you don't touch them (or just graze them by accident). There is no damping and they fall freely. Of course, far cheaper and easier to fit than gas struts.

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I would like struts - but as I say the size of the floor panels do not allow them to hinge up like that - they hit the underside of seat frames / rear bench etc. They need to be lifted an inch or so and then slid to side - fwd.
 
I’ve in the past glued ply under the hole cut to create a rebate, does leave that section thicker but can work as it gives you something to screw into
 
If you want to fit those stainless steel lifting hooks on multiple floor boards I would make a simple wooden router template from cheap thin MDF. You may need two templates, one for the larger shallow section where the screws are fitted, and a second for the deeper, but smaller cut out over the lifting handle. The big advantage is you can refine the template on some scrap timber before tackling the more precious floorboards. These simple templates do not take long to make and every cut out using the router will be perfect once the template is perfected.

The other solution is the KISS approach of using a suction cup.

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