Sometime last year I asked for advice about kayak hatches. Your responses informed my investigation, which I distilled into an article for the club newsletter. I wanted to say thanks to those who contributed, and to post a link to the article for those interested. (hmmm, doesn’t show as link unless you scroll over “link to article”)
Afterthoughts: 1. Since writing the article, I have seen Epic sea kayaks equipped with toggle and hinged hatches, and 2. I found a broken-off toggle/hinged hatch on a marsh, confirming my suspicion that these might be prone to breakage. 3. I’ve also forked over a couple hundred bucks to replace the large, oval, “rubber” hatch covers on my Azul. It’s the second time I’ve replaced the hatches on that 15-yr old boat.
Good on you…
I’ve had the strap overs on some CDs and Pygmies and tupperware on my Valley with no problems. My older Kestrel has Valley hatches (love that look) with the newer ones going to the hinge and lever.
After since first seeing the hinge and lever on low end SOTs I figure those are simpler but cheaper and lighter.
Good article. Your comment in another thread about adhesives was spot on. Last week I paddled a CD Prana LV for two days. All four hatches leaked at the rim where the screws were placed. Rims were removed and resealed with Lexcell. No more leaks.
The hatches on my NC Expedition are yacht grade plastic with toggles. I wouldn’t trade them for any other type. They are the quickest and most secure hatches that I have ever seen and I made one little improvement. I installed Styrofoam on the underside, so they would float if I happened to drop one in the water.
Because of the way they are built, the size is somewhat limited, but I haven’t found that to be a problem, but then, I don’t camp.
NC kayaks, that’s funny. They have such tiny tiny hatch covers I have even see. Especially on there big Expedition boat. Expedition my butt with those hatch openings. Huge pain to load for an expedition. Valley hatch covers I think are the best for not leaking. Although the one on my tiderace are very good too.
@dc9mm said:
NC kayaks, that’s funny. They have such tiny tiny hatch covers I have even see. Especially on there big Expedition boat. Expedition my butt with those hatch openings. Huge pain to load for an expedition. Valley hatch covers I think are the best for not leaking. Although the one on my tiderace are very good too.
As I said, I don’t camp and I don’t carry a lot of stuff in my Expedition, but I wouldn’t have it any other way as far as the hatch sizes are concerned. I think the hatches were chosen to fit the no-compromise design of the boat and not the other way around. I would rather Doug change the name of the boat than anything about the design.