How do you get engine hatch open with no power?
 

I had my 21' Scarab out on Lake of the Ozarks last weekend, and all of a sudden the motor died and I lost electrical power to everything. I started checking fuses in the dash, but eveything looked fine. Then I thought to myself " how in the hell am I supposed to get the engine hatch open when there is no power to run the motor that raises the hatch cover?". I remembered hearing from a friend that if you tug hard enough on the hatch, something inside the hatch lift motor will pop loose and allow you to get the hatch open. Well I pulled and pulled and that damn thing didn't budge. So after sitting dead in the water for 20min, the power all of a sudden turned back on and I was able to raise the engine compartment hatch. Turns out that the main power conector that supplys power to the motor and everything else was loose. I plugged it back in and eveything was fine. Now I'm absolutly terrified that if my batterys ever go dead or something shorts out I'm screwed. What's up??

Instal a set of jumper posts under the rear bench seat. The Baja's come with them.

A very similar thing happened to me. Only my problem was that the ground wire going to my hatch motor broke loose. I had a hell of a time getting in there without the motor. I also could not pull up against the motor. I was able to get the hatch up just high enough to jam a 2x4 under it to hold it. Then I bent up a threaded rod, welded a punch on the end and knocked out the pin on the hatch with the punch and chisel. Not easy to do because the lifted hatch was putting pressure on the pin. Now I hooked up a Morse Cable to the pin so all I have to do is lift the hatch up slightly and pull the pin out with the cable.

I do not have this problem but I thought that I you have hyd. lift you should have a access port to reach your hand in and pull out a quick pin that holds the ram in the bracket:cool: or like Checkmate do you do :cool:

I have an access port behind my rear seat cushion. Lets me reach in and pull the cotter pin at the bottom. ALso lets me bang on it with whatever is handy when someone holds the button down to long and it jams. This is also my fire extinguisher access hole. I thought an access to the engine bay for shooting in fire extinguisher was required?

I can lift mine without unhooking anything.
The lift bracket/frame is mounted like a hinge at the rear and not attached at the front, Only to the ram, and it rides on rubber pads. I can lift mine all the way open.

Intolerant1,
I have no access holes to my engine compartment, only the vents.
But then I have an automatic Halon extinguisher system.

I just notched the upper bracket holes. The weight of the hatch keeps it in the notch, but you can lift it up and slide out of the notch if needed. Some of the marine parts shops also sell a bracket with a slide that lets you lift the hatch far enough to reach in and pull a pin. If you don't have some means to lift the hatch with no power you will someday get to pull it open by pulling the screws loose from the fiberglass.

-Greg

I can loosen the bolt that hold the end of the lift shaft to the hatch cover, that way I can pull it open when ever I need to but I'm affraid that if I hit a large wave it might pop open and rip off the boat. It that something I shoulf worry about, or should I just loosen the bolt so that the weight of the hatch cover holds itself down, and the ram in only used to lift the hatch.

I also put some thought into your situation, because my hatch set-up is similar. I could pull on the damn thing all day long and the only way I'd get it to open would be to tear the screws out. What makes things even worse is that I have twim jackscrews raising the hatch.

Fortunately, I have jumper posts right under the bench seat which can be a lifesaver, the only catch is that you still need power to make anything work.

Since contemplating an emergency situation where I lost power and I was adrift, I wouldn't even be able to get access to an anchor since those are also stashed in the engine compartment.

Since then I never leave home without a booster pack for emergency power. It's a good thing to have on board if your anchors are also stored in the engine compartment.

If you have a booster pack or another boat you can rig up a cigarette lighter cable and plug it into you lighter outlet (provided you have one) This will work in most cases but if there is a short or a broke wire it may not. Eddie marine carries a mount that slips about 4" alowing you to get to a quick release pin.

See the following:

http://www.eddiemarine.com/cart/deta...&CategoryID=46


http://www.eddiemarine.com/cart/deta...&CategoryID=46

LIFT

A chain saw??.....:D :D :D

Don't forget to bring a siphon to get gas
 

to that chainsaw in case it's empty...and don't store it under the hatch!

Maybe I'm missing something, but you could pull the dash switch out that actuates the motors and apply power from somewhere else in the dash to activate the motor. I know you could not do this in a hurry. I'm not wild about the jumpers that baja puts under the rear seats because they go to the battery, not the hatch motors. Some failure modes of a battery are essentially a short and you would need a source strong enough to pull your battery under the hatch up as well an energize the motor. Behind the dash switch, you can get directly to the motor wires regardless of what state the battery is in. Of course, you don't want to store you tool bag under the hatch...

Scarab
 

I also have a scarab 1 my water temp wire come off lost weter temp went to check and hatch would not open . I have two wires run from the lift motor in the open only run to the back seat . I put power to the wires did not open turn out the motor was bad. I took out a screw from 1 of my speakers and used it as a punch screwdriver as a hammer took out the roll pin in the hinge then lifted the hatch got out my tool box fix the wire reinstalled pins went boating:rolleyes:

try lifting the lid on a 42 excalibur:rolleyes: you may need a backeeottomee after that.;)

If you can get to the switch under the dash you ought to be able to put a small set of jumper cables (like the one's on battery chargers) or connect a heavy gauge wire to the switch then to the jumper's. This is Not the best way, but it has worked for me in a pinch! Now I have a third battery mounted under the back seat.

When I read your thread, I said to myself now that is a good question. I had to run down to the boat and see how I would get mine open. It turns out that the upper bracket is screwed to the engine cover with machine bolts. If you ever lost all power, remove the cushion and remove two screws, then you can open it by hand. Thanks for the thread.........

Mike

I have a fix!
 

I few weeks ago I put a new radio and an amp in my boat. I ran the power for the amp from the fuse box in the dash. I figured that the fuse box had plenty of power. I was wrong. I was motoring along everything was good then we turned the radio up to hear it ofer the motor and everything went out. Motor quit lights went out(it was night). Everything was dead I had no power to the fuse box anymore. Long story short I yanked out the new amp wire in the dash and used it to reach from the bolts(hooked to the bat.) under the rear seat to the fuse box. Got the hatch up and reset the master breaker on the computer for the motor. After getting home I decided to put a switch under the seat that was directly connected to the battery and the hatch motor. Works great. Proved the battery has power. Realizing that I may some day get a dead battery. I also took the nut off the bottom bolt of the ram. Drilled a hole through the bolt and put on a hitch pin. A wire from the hitch pin going under the seat allows me to remove the pin. then a cable attached to the bolt head and ending under the seat allows me to pull the bolt. Which in turn allow the hatch ram to be free and Im in. It may seem like extra work for nothing when you are doing it. But if you ever need it ,it will be a life saver. in reality the switch is now useless. But since I did that first I will just leave it.
BTW. You have to pay the tow guy even if you get the boat running before he gets there. The rates a outragous. What are you gonna do though I called him and he was coming to get me in the middle of the night. Hope this will help everyone to avoid the situation I had.
John
95 Baja 272