Re: [Paddlewise] waterproofing leaking hatch covers

Bay and Beyond Sea Kayak Tours wrote:
> 

> I am thinking about putting a sheet of heavy plastic under the
> neoprene and holding it in place with small diameter rope around the
> lip of the hatch or putting a soft foam around the inside edges of
> the hard plastic hatch cover to see if it will create a better seal
> and or stop water from being driven up and under the hard plastic
> cover and on the neoprene where it can soak through.
> 
> Are there any products you can treat your neoprene with to make it
> more water proof, some sort of scotch guard for neoprene. Might have
> to email 3M with that idea....
> 
I'm afraid you're on the wrong track here. If there's anything in this
world that is waterproof, it's neoprene. If it weren't, you would surely
notice that your wetsuit would weight a ton after use. Even under high
pressure (when worn by a diver) the closed cell foam will not absorb any
water: That's the whole fun of closed cell foam. Your hatchcovers will
only leak if there are holes through the material.

So, that clearly establishes what is NOT leaking. Finding out where the
water is coming from might be more difficult. It might be the between
the deck and the neoprene: The nylon fabric on top of the neoprene does
absorb water, and can transport it sideways. On the covers of my Prijon
Seayak that's not the case: The covers have no nylon on the inside. On
the inside it's smooth rubber. Probably that's the same on your covers,
if not, you might want to replace them. It's also possible that the
hatch is not responsible for the leak at all: The bulkheads in plastic
boats, foam or plastic, are glued in place. There is no glue in the
world that really works on PE, so you might have a problem there. Also
check the mount for your rudder (if you have one), the mountings of your
decklines, rudderlines...

I hate to tell you this, but you might be fighting a loosing battle.
Typically the temperature under your hatches is not constant: When out
of the water, the temperature will adjust to the outside temperature, or
much higher when the sun is shining. When you put the kayak in the water
it will adjust to the watertemperature, typically lower, causing the
pressure under your hatches to drop. If you start splashing, rolling or
that sort of thing, vaporizing water from your deck will lower the
temperature even more. The pressure will drop below the outside
pressure, causing any small leak to start sucking air or water for all
it's worth. Some people make a little (needlepoint) hole in the middle
of their bulkheads, to give it some way of sucking air from a harmless
place.

Personally, I've given up on that battle. I just make sure my clothes
and sleeping bag are stored in drybags. The rest of the equipment can
stand a little moisture.

By the way: On my rear hatch cover, I abandoned the neoprene cover. I
found out the space between the coaming and the hard plastic cover
varies between 0.9 and 1.2 centimeters, so I could find a sealing of a
cardoor and put it on the coaming. It fits almost watertight against the
plastic cover. It doesn't seal better then the neoprene, but makes it
much easier to open and close the hatch.

Cheers,

Niels.
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