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I broke one access cover under the starboard side aft berth due to lifting it up with bedding on it to remove air from the bladder under it but then broke the port side vee berth one by kneeling on it.

Found the port side front one under the aft berth was cracked today so my original idea of replacing these panels with stock ones would appear to be a waste of time and money even though the dealer said he thought he had the vee berth one.
Has anyone else had these problems and how have you fixed them.
was thinking of maybe using ply and using polyeurethene floor treatment, this would I believe be stronger and look a hull of a lot better but slightly heavier which I always try to avoid.

Mine are all made of varnished plywood.

Mine seem on the verge of breaking everytime I try to go forward, last season, I gingerly stayed in the center. And there have been many posts where they were replaced with plywood. But I am thinking to support them with dividers because I am a little on the heavy side. Making compartments that lift out while the ends provide the support, this will provide better organization and keep the paper towels/toilet paper dry. But first I have to do the mod that runs the vent for the ballast up to the anchor locker

Like everything else on a MacGregor, the bilge covers are no more robust than need be for their intended use. Even though I'm also pretty heavy, I never had any problem with them because I treated them with care... no point source loads like a knee on them. When accessing below the aft berth I'd lift the mattress and slide cover over. I wouldn't expect 1/4" plywood to perform much better, but would expect it to delaminate over time.

tangentair wrote:I am a little on the heavy side

So was the Spruce Goose

I, too, am a little lighter than the Spruce Goose, and I solved this problem by putting another layer of foam (from the factory) in the aft berth (the only one I use) and killed two birdies with one stone. Now the covers don't move even when I kneel on them and they are cushioned better from breaking - - - and the berth is firmer. I think cost me around $60 for a second set of aft berth cushions - - - MUCH cheaper than going outside to an upholstery shop!

Rick

Being heavy as well I made a set of 4 boards from 3/4" marine grade ply, covering the whole back berth space wall to wall.

Obelix;

I was going to do what you did but didn't want the berth I use to be THAT firm, nor that heavy to lift to get into the storage areas - - - so I used factory foam - - - and, luckily, that did the job.

Rick

Looks like I will be using some 3/8 ply dressed up, at least on the three that have broken or cracked as they are the main danger areas.
Even with extra padding there would still be heaps of pressure on these boards, I do have blocks of wood under the aft berth ones but even that didn't stop them breaking.
I have spent a bit of time down there doing mods etc with no cushions but even with my light weight 93KG you can't help but put that weight in one spot.
Of course we do live on the boat for at least three month's of the year which probably doesn't help.
The front portside cover was just from a visitor putting a knee in the middle.
Putting extra cushions is not really an option (for me) as that just cuts down the space.

Seems like I have seen a mod where the owner put 1x4's on bedding compond on top of the ballast tubes to prevent the aft berth boards from flexing.

Tangentair
Have heard of this ballast venting mod before but can't see the benefit as the bowl doesn't flood unless perhaps real nose heavy or heeled, maybe I missed something.
Sleepy I had already put the boards along the ballast rails but it didn't stop the portside front from cracking along the board edge, the starboard one was probably cracked too but it broke because I bent it too far.

Yes

Jack Sparrow

Thank you very much, Jack, for your word of wisdom - - - means a GREAT deal to us since U R the MOD KING!!!

Rick

Mine don't break, they just seem bend and collapse into the hole. I have considered putting velcro around the edges to help keep them in place.
But I may reconsider, hearing of the breakage.
Resetting would be better than breaking.

Hardcrab
I have put the bolt through the hole on each side trick to stop them sliding all over the place or flipping through the hole.
You should be able to see them in the picture.
Some were set up like this new but can't remember now which ones, tried to find something else similar to replace these covers with and thought I had untilI found out the price.
Jack
I know one was just me bending it too far (as well as being cracked?) but as for the other two if a visitor can't grab something from the bow without breaking them IMO they need to be stronger.

Has anyone ever used FRP sheeting ( a fiberglass type material) contractors use it for commerical bathrooms and kitchens, I use it for tub enclosures, it is flexable but glue it to the stock hole covers to beef them up. It is about 3/16 thick, white and totally water proof comes in 4ft x 8 ft sheets and can be bought at Home Depot and other construction supply places. There is a matching water proof glue so that a double layer will work very well for replacement hole covers and would be very very difficult to break or crack. It is lighter and stronger than wood and cleans up great.

On my boat each stock hole cover has 2 - 3/16 screws about 1 inch long and nuts, placed in 2 locations to keep the pannels centered. The lip of the storage hole has 3/8 holes ( or big enough for the nut to fit in) to fit the screws into, this keeps the pannels from slidding around and are easy to remove when needed.