Engine compartment hatch ram can rip mount off lid when lowering

echandler1971

Long story short, After debugging engine issues and having my engine bay open while out in the bay, I closed it, confident things were working. The issue was, being noisy with 2 engines running, I couldn’t hear the telltale sign of the hatch being fully-closed and the motor winding down. Because of this, I kept the ram pulling until it literally ripped the mount off the hatch lid, stripping out the screw holes. I wish there was a way to stop the motor automatically, because mine certainly doesn’t. 

Having done it a few times before, 3 of us got the hatch lifted (it’s a 360, so kinda heavy) and propped open and I fixed the problem. It just sucked and was totally my fault. 

YYZRC

Disappointing that it wasn't properly set at the factory.

I would climb into the bilge and close the hatch. Disconnect the ram from the hatch mount and have someone fully retract the ram. Then, add spacer blocks as required to prevent this from happening again.

LaRea

Does yours have a sliding collar at the top of the actuator where it attaches to the lid? 


The bolt should be loose so it can slide within the slot.  That prevents the actuator from pulling down on the lid.  Sounds like somebody tightened the bolt on yours.  

LaRea

When set up correctly, the actuator cannot pull down on the lid, even if you hold the button down forever.  

If your collar slides easily but you still ripped off the mount, it means the bottom of the actuator is mounted too low (or the actuator is too short).  Consider adding a shim to raise the actuator, like this (which has the added benefit of opening the hatch wider for better access).

https://rinkerboats.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/178038#Comment_178038

echandler1971

i have that collar but sliding or not it would rip it out. I’ll look at shimming it as you show though. Thanks.