Once you punch through and begin cutting the insulation material its important you avaoid the plumbing lines, hoses and wiring you see here in the engine room. You actually come through several inches lower than the top of the Yanmar.

Engine Room View

The lower part of the tub section, above the floor and below the water faucet is the section to be cut out.

Shower/Tub Access Area

We chose an Imtra product.
It is the So-Pac, Series 4000, Medium size hatch. Model # SPA-40154. Dreamy White (off white) Its a closer color match than white.
It measures-
Outside 13 1/8 X 15 1/2
Opening 9 1/2 X 12 1/4
Cutout 10 X 12 3/4
We purchased this through West Marine, special order and had it within 2 or 3 days. Great Service!!

IMTRA Access Hatch

This is the back view of the hatch. It has a single latch, a wide lip for water sealing, reinforced lid and a foot. Oops, thats my foot! Sorry.

Backside Of Access Hatch

Notice the water seal around the panel.

Open View Of Hatch

We taped the template in place to be sure the entire hatch was centered properly and within the flat section of the tub wall.

Locating Template

With the template taped in place and the center, hatch section open, we used it as a guide to trace the area to be cut out of the tub wall. Be sure you trace the inside of the template, not the outside. The directions are very clear on the template provided with the hatch.
We tested having the hatch open down (laying on the floor of the tub) or up and decided the hatch would be in the way if it lay on the tub floor when trying to reach inside the engine compartment.

Open Template

We used a number 2 soft pencil to draw this. It may be hard to see on this photo.

Template Tracing On Tub Wall

This is the cutout in the tub wall. Just inside the wall is a section of the pan system used to reinforce the hull. It is very solid and if you position your template too low you will end up bending jig saw blades when you run into it. We used a jig saw with a fine or smooth cutting blade. You have to go slowly and have plenty of extra blades on hand. I ended up breaking 5 blades before I got this cut finished. My jig saw left a lot of black markes on the fiber glass so I used Island Girl Pink to clean it. The distance between the tub wall and the plywood engine room housing is approximately 3 to 5 inches.

First Cut In Tub

This is the plywood youll need to cut through next. Fortunately, its thick enough that you dont need to worry about cutting through your plumbing or wiring unless you use a sawsall or reciprocating saw with a long blade.
Theres those feet again!
You can see we could have positioned our template a little higher and avoided the pan structure.

Plywood Engine Housing Wall

You can see this isnt a smooth cut, but whos going to see it? After cutting this out with my jig saw the opening wasnt quite wide enough to give me good access to the impeller, the entire reason I started this project. I used a side cutting bit and the long bit holder attached to my Dremel tool to enlarge the cutout. Be sure you have your vacuum near by. Youll want to vacuum this mess up frequently as you work on it.
Notice the plumbing lines and wiring?
Once I cut through the plywood I used a blunt end hack saw blade to saw through the sound deadening, insulating material thats glued to the inside of the Plywood. Just go slowly and youll be able to detect when you are up against any wiring or plumbing as you cut through.

Plywood Cutout

I used the flash on this shot to highlight some things in the background that didnt show up inthe first shot.

Plywood Cutout View 2

Here is a clear view of the access to the starter solenoid and motor, 3 wiring harness plugs that would be very difficult to reach from the aft access panel and the coolant system drain cock hose (the clear one that leads right to the small drain cock just above it). I had not been able to locate this drain cock when looking from the aft access panel in our stateroom. I was told to change to a different type of coolant but hadnt been able to locate this drain cock until now. It was an unexpected bonus. This hose can be run right into the tub for draining. the you dont have to bother with flushing it out of the bilge.

Starter, Wiring, Drain Cock

The infamous impeller which I had not seen before. The cover is visible (the little warning sticker is on it) until you put your arm in to work on it. I plan to install one of those speed removal kits so I can do it quickly. Its not as easy as having it sitting on a work bench in front of you but its a heck of a lot easier than trying to get at it from the starboard side of the engine.

Thar She Blows!!!

We used a new piece of lead lined, sound insulating material to fill in the cutout. We certainly dont want the engine to be any louder than it is already (not very loud, I know)so I cut a piece slightly larger than the cutout. We simply stuff the new piece into the cutout and use duct tape to hold it in place. Easy to remove when we need to get to the port side of the engine.

Sealing Up The Engine Compartment

We added a second layer of insulation. This is approximately 2 to 3 inches larger than the cutout and is taped over the first piece of material.

Second Layer of Insulation

This is what she looks like when open. I use a bungee cord to keep it out of the way and I can sit in the tub and easily reach all of the components on the port side of the engine.

Installed and Open

Its a nice way to provide the needed access and doesnt compromise the integrity or quality of the boat in any way. The panel is water proof so there are no leaks into the area between the tub and the engine compartment. The sound of the engine is no louder than before. I didnt use a decible meter, but Suzanne is more critical and sensitive than any meter I know, and shes still happy.

Maybe Hunter will see this and it might give someone there an idea.

It took about 6 hours labor and cost approximately $60.00 in parts and materials, including all the broken jig saw blades.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me at carolina450@aol.com

Good Luck, Mike Pilolla s/v Carolina

Shes Ready For Action