R27 OB Cockpit Hatch Gas Springs

[davydub]

We just recently moved from a 2016 C-24 to a 2019 R27. The cockpit center hatch is quite heavy. I was considering new possibly slightly greater compression gas springs. First how quickly do these lose strength and is there a recommendation to just replace the current ones or is more capacity a realistic option?

 

[S. Todd]

My experience with those gas struts on the rear window to my pickup truck cap is after about four years they loose a fair amount of their push and replacement solves the problem. I usually stretch their lives by giving them manual boosts until about six years before they get really wimpy and get replaced. Replacement is easy and in the world of boat dollars not even too big of a hit.