Hi all,



I have not posted here for quite a while. Greetings to old friends, and Hi to new ones. I lost a good job in Spring of 2009 as my company was closed due to the economy. I worked 2 temp jobs and had 17 months of unemployment until I found the job I have now. It is not the same level as I had, but I am working and have benefits. At my age, I am happy for this for sure.



I have not had my Impex Assateaque Kayak wet since I lost my job. Getting back to work consumed every minute and thought I had to spare. it was quite a stressful ordeal.



My Kayak had some Gelcoat blisters at the bottom edge of the stern for being under a cover and the cover touching it. I took it to the local shop for Gelcoat repair. The repair came out fine, but …



OK,… My Question.



I put my original Valley Hatch covers on to take it to the shop. I never stored the Kayak with them on, as I kept them in the house out of the heat and cold. When I went to pick the boat up yesterday, all 3 of the Valley hatch covers were cracked and split. The round one was badly split open.



I thought they had done something to my Kayak to cause this, but they said Valley covers split over time. I had 303 on them, and the shop said I was lucky to have them 6 years with out them splitting. They gave me a good deal on Sea-Lect covers to replace them as they felt badly, but would not claim any fault in the situation.



** I searched here and saw some comments on Valley covers deteriorating over time. Anyone else have this trouble?



** Are Sea-Lect Hatch covers the way to go?? In other words did I do right by buying them instead of Valley?



** Should I store the Sea-lect covers inside over the winter so they don’t get cold, shrink and damage the rim or split?



Thanks for your time to reply.

Select vs Valley and Kayak Sport

I have several boats. A few with Valleys, one with Sealect and one with Kayak Sport. I like the Valleys best but as everyone knows, they have a shelf life. I've had the Sealects for 2nd season now. They work fine but some times a bit stubborn to get on. And a more stubborn when it gets cold. I believe the Sealects are a plastic compound and not real rubber. That's why Valleys crack because they are a rubber compound. The Kayak Sport ones work fine, are soft and so far so good on those. They're about 5 yrs now. I have replaced Valleys many times and yes, it's expensive because all three seem to start going around the same time. I still like them the best but more longevity would be appreciated.
I too hit them with 303 etc. but I guess UV in the air seems to attack them plus... ever feel the roof of your car on a 100 degree afternoon? That's what they endure regularly.

Gnarlydog Sea-lect Review
Here is a review of the covers on Gnarly Dog News.Gnarly reviews alot of stuff.



http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2012/06/gear-sea-lect-designs-hatch-covers.html

Thanks!
Thanks for both of your input.



I see that I am not the only one who had Valley hatch cover problems, and it seems the Sea-Lect is a good replacement.



Any comments about storing them inside over the winter?



Thanks again!