The term “access door” usually applies to a door on a boat that’s not intended for people to pass through. Access doors typically allow access to storage compartments and to rigging areas, such as the interior of a console or the interior of the transom, where livewell plumbing, fuel filters, etc. might be located. Access doors are also typically mounted on vertical surfaces; when mounted on a horizontal surface, like a deck, they would be called hatches.