I have flush mount hatches on my shearwater, never sealed well with the stock gasket and its time to replace them.any better solutions? I've heard of using closed cell foam but don't know how to go about it
basically closed cell foam won't absorb water, an open cell foam is commonly known as a "sponge".
there are a lot of varieties of closed cell foam. for gaskets, you need a certain compressability to allow for a water tight seal to form. the stock gasket you get in a clc kit is weatherstripping material that you can buy at almost any hardware store. and when i have custom built boats, that is what i usually work with.
there are other forms of closed cell foam...like the foam that they sell for making kayak seats. however, you will find that particular material way to stiff to make a hatch gasket.
i have a shearwater as well and have never had problems with leaking. in addition to the gasket, the hatch opening has rims that sit on top of the hatch sills. did you build yours properly with the hatch rims? this is a fairly important detail to get a water-tight hatch installation..
if this is built right, than maybe you just need to replace the gasket material of the right thickness and ensure it is properly installed. if it is, its actually a bit of work to push the hatch down (to get the gasket to compress) and lock it in place. if that's not the case....than maybe there is another issue that needs attention.
a picture is worth a thousand words...if you want to take pictures of the hatch and the hatch opening and post them...perhaps we can see if there is something else going on.
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RE: best hatch seal
» Submitted by hspira - Sun, 3/12/17 » 10:09 PM
the stock gasket is a form of closed cell foam.
basically closed cell foam won't absorb water, an open cell foam is commonly known as a "sponge".
there are a lot of varieties of closed cell foam. for gaskets, you need a certain compressability to allow for a water tight seal to form. the stock gasket you get in a clc kit is weatherstripping material that you can buy at almost any hardware store. and when i have custom built boats, that is what i usually work with.
there are other forms of closed cell foam...like the foam that they sell for making kayak seats. however, you will find that particular material way to stiff to make a hatch gasket.
i have a shearwater as well and have never had problems with leaking. in addition to the gasket, the hatch opening has rims that sit on top of the hatch sills. did you build yours properly with the hatch rims? this is a fairly important detail to get a water-tight hatch installation..
if this is built right, than maybe you just need to replace the gasket material of the right thickness and ensure it is properly installed. if it is, its actually a bit of work to push the hatch down (to get the gasket to compress) and lock it in place. if that's not the case....than maybe there is another issue that needs attention.
a picture is worth a thousand words...if you want to take pictures of the hatch and the hatch opening and post them...perhaps we can see if there is something else going on.
all the best,
b