What’s preferred? Storage with the hatch covers on or off? Keep in mind, I’m already religious with the application of 303.
Hatch covers off to reduce strain on the covers and to insure that boat storage compartments are dry with no condensation. Store in a cool dark place for long term storage.
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Thank you. My last sea kayak that I owned for over 15 years had rigid plastic hatch covers secured with straps. This is my first boat with rubber hatch covers, so I want to make sure I get the longest life out of them through proper care.
Hatches produced by Valley Canoe Corporation for their kayaks are notoriously subject to deterioration in comparison to other alternatives (some available for Valley kayaks). Does anyone know the truth of this opinion?
Talked about all the time all over the net.
Anyone with personal experience?
I just replaced both hatch caps on a vintage Valley (1997 Cliffhanger). The one that was on the bow hatch when I bought it (the stern cap was missing) had been chewed along the perimeter by animals and when I went to pop it off, it literally split and came apart in two pieces. This surprised me since the Valley hatches are so thick and I would think they would be tough. Photo below.
But clearly the boat had been stored poorly, and being as these were 27 years old, probably not fair to categorize them as “subject to deterioration” based on just this one. But I wonder if the thickness itself makes them more subject to premature failure. The replacement pair of OEM Valley caps I got from TopKayaker seem to be of slightly thinner material, maybe more flexible long term.
I do remove rubber covers when storing boats outside or in the garage (as opposed to the basement where my fleet used to live) due to the threat of animal gnawing – I had to switch to galvanized trash cans for that :“crunching critters” reason as well.
Tom at TopKayaker recommends Sea-Lect rubber hatch covers as being far superior to Valley hatch covers as far as long life. They make many hatch covers that are exact replacements for the Valley covers. The Valley covers seem to degrade in just 2-3 years with age and UV exposure.
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That’s actually not an original cover in that picture that would come on a Valley kayak. That’s a replacement cover with a Necky Logo, but made the same otherwise. Valley puts their own name on them for their own kayaks. What you experienced is normal with these Valley covers no matter how you store them. I know from a lot of first hand experience. Top Kayaker also sells Kajaksport covers for Valley cover replacement. I’ve got a couple sets of those. I’ve yet to have a soft rubber KajakSport cover go bad. I think if you stored them in the sun they would. But simply storing them out of the sun, they will last. I’ve stored Valley hatches inside a dark closet in my climate-controlled house from the time I bought them new and they crumbled after a few years unfortunately. I have some Sealect Valley replacements too. I peronally like the all soft rubber Kajaksport ones better than any of them, but the hard plastic click-ons work too. I just think the click-ons can be more stubborn to put on, and lead too many people to hammer-fisting them onto these light-weight rims attached to lightweight composite material, where you’re expecting to maintain a waterproof seal. I wish all my KajakSport covers were the all soft rubber ones.
Gosh, yes, unfortunately. I have experienced first-hand multiple sets of Valley hatch covers (Necky branded Valley hatch covers included) crumble. I currently have one set of Kajaksport covers that I really should replace. These are on a kayak I bought used that was stored outside in the sun. The black hard plastic tops have whitish-colored oxidation or some such thing, the softer sides kind of curve outward some, but they still click into place and keep water out. I have 20+ year old KajakSport covers that have always been in my care that are just fine.
The hatch covers with the Necky logo were manufactured by Valley.
Necky, originally manufactured in British Columbia and purchased by Johnson Outdoors in 1998 was moved to Ferndale, Washington and then to Old Town, Maine. The Necky line has been completely discontinued around 2019.
Thanks for that information.
Yeah, looks like what I got (from TopKayaker) is the same old Valley material. I might see if I can exchange them for the Sealect or KajakSport versions (boat has not yet been in the water since I popped them on). I didn’t realize that the KajakSport lid (actually cheaper!) would have fit because Topkayaker lists it in the catalog header as 41 cm by 22 cm and miy hatch is 44 x 25.
Much as I love the resource that TopKayaker offers, I kinda wish they would standardize their measurement units to facilitate entering a “search” for finding the right part. Buried in the detailed description of the Kajak Sport lids is that they WILL fit a 17.25" by 10" rim. They have 3 versions of the same size lid listed as “17.25 x 10”, “17 1/4” x 10" and “41 cm x 22 cm”.
Then again, I will probably be selling the Cliffhanger as a collector’s item so having OEM lids on it might be a plus…
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Valley covers are junk and always have been. The only good thing about them is that they float. I replaced all of ours with Sea-Lect covers, which are a huge improvement in quality and durability.
There are multiple versions of KajakSport hatches. They have their own line of hatches and rims which are not compatible with Valley covers, and they also make Valley-compatible covers. KajakSport covers are durable and good quality, but I actually like the hard-shell version of the Sea-Lect covers better. Sea-lect makes a version without the hard shell, as well.
If you have questions, just call Top Kayaker.
Thanks for the assorted responses, which confirm that the Valley rubber hatches are not durable. This fact has been out there a long time. Evidently Valley has not bothered to address this issue. Or have they more recently?