Thought I'd share with the group in case anyone else found it useful.
The center hatch on my jackson cuda is awesome. My second favorite feature of the yak (besides the hi/lo seat of course). The hatch is huge, deep, long, and can store alot of things.
While fishing, i find myself digging in it a decent amount and decided to add a hinge and make it a little quicker and easier.
Bought a long "piano" hinge and some stainless bolts and nuts. Thats all it took. Hindsight, probably could have just used a 2" thick piece of nylon strap as a hinge.
Used a jigsaw and cut straight across the hatch, drilled the holes, and attached the hinge. Quite simple.
Can still open the hatch all the way if needed or only the front part.
Not shown in the pictures, but I've gone back and replaced the bolts u see, which are 1" bolts, with 3/4" ones. Reduces the amount sticking out.