I would mount it on right like Potter did. Reason is if you need to open door to get something out of cabin, you can't get it anyway when driving, so passenger has to do it and door won't be in their way if it's hinged on right. I have done that myself when going slow however. It's ok to leave the wheel then for a few seconds, since it's hydraulic steering so it doesn't move when released.
As far as a cooler in the stepdown, that's a cool feature of the '72 and earlier models with the big stepdown, which is big enough to hold a 70 qt Coleman cooler with the door in place. I've personally never found a need for a larger cooler, and I've stayed on the boat for as long as 3 nights at a time. My 65 qt Engle cooler will keep ice for 5 days in the S. Fl. summer! Putting cooler in stepdown improves the ride noticeably when it's rough.
I believe the early Moesly models used double doors with half mounted on each side and latching in the center (see pics below from '69 brochure) but it's not clear if they open in or out. Seems to be a clever arrangement, but if they opened inward, you would not be able to mount a board between door and lid over the head to hold 4 scuba tanks like I did.
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