Hatch Garage for headroom?

[ducked]

I was interested in this comment on the Jaguar 25, here

Jaguar 25?

There is only standing head room under the open hatch, but I have seen various designs of hatch garage to try to improve things in the saloon.

Although I’m not sure I understand it, since I thought a “hatch garage” was a cassette stylee enclosure on the coachroof for the sliding hatch in the forward position. I’m not sure what these are for, but I‘d guess the poster meant fitting a sprayhood, perhaps a fixed one, and such a “hatch garage” would then prevent water blowing along the coach roof from leaking in around the sliding hatch opening in its front.

Does this seem reasonable?

I’d think the Trident 24 has similar headroom restriction, and so this might be a worthwhile upgrade. My boat has no hatch garage, but has been fitted with a sprayhood in the past. I’d be interested in any suitable implementations out there.

This Trident, for sale in the Balearics, appears to have been fitted with a rigid sprayhood, and perhaps an associated “hatch garage”, but the photo doesn’t show much detail.

https://www.inautia.com/boat/1968-trident-24-9635227/

 

[William_H]

Two ways to get more headroom in a small yacht. One is to raise the roof just along the center line. The hatch garage has a top ok but also a bottom. Remove the bottom and you could get more head room even more with hatch slid back. raise the roof might be a lot of work.
The other option is to lower the floor. Most boats have a bilge and fairly heavy wooden floor boards. You could perhaps design thin grp or better cabon fibre boards with a lower area in the centre. (where you need it) A non flat floor might seem strange when you are at anchor but at any heel when sailing it will seem fine.
Make a plaster male mold of the final shape. ie dome shaped. Lay up Grp or carbon over this with polyester resin will be fine. (epoxy or vinyl ester if you want) Then lay up reinforcing members long wise and cross wise using foam or even cardboard to shape. You may be able to carve out the existing cross members to reduce height. Every centimetre helps. You may be able to make useful shaped floor panels without modifying the boat so if all fails and you don't like it just put original floor boards back.
On my little boat I threw away the original thick floor baords and filled the shallow bilge with foam. I then lay glass and carbon over this to make a lower floor. Not so successful as rain got in and got under foam and grp was niot thick enough to avert cracking. Patch on patch and carpet over it is still there.
ol'will

 

[ducked]

I had the floor boards out of the Trident for initial cleaning/drying out, and it does gain a little headroom. Wheather it;d be viable at sea I'm not sure. I raised it as a question with the owners association and it was thought not, though I might try it. The bilges are pretty shallow and it might get wet.

I doubt there's height enough for lower floorboards but maybe something non slip on the hull surface..

I think it'd be a long time before I got up the nerve to cut the roof off, but I might try a DIY sprayhood/mini-pilothouse to get headroom over the hatch, or even just a hatch with a lightbox or bubble in it.