Agrree w/ LeeG…
…that the stock set up can easily come loose when you are clambering on the deck or have someone in another boat leaning on to your deck in rescue practice. I had it happen a few times but found something that works for me. It’s a bit Rube Goldberg-ish but effective and free.
I cut some sections of bike innertubes about 2" long and installed them on the staps that comprise the “loop” side. Once the hatch is latched the tube is slid and then stretched over the metal toggle and locking plastic doo-dah. It ends up looking sort of like a piece of heat shrink over the toggle. Since installing them I have never had a loose strap.
Not as elegant as Lee’s swiveling dogs but effective for me. If I ever build another Pygmy I will use the stock arrangement with innertubes. It works.
Lee, I watched a cleopatra’s needle…
occur a few years ago as a result of the tabs being moved by a foot during a rescue. The foot pressure caved the hatch in and the stern filled with water. The boat sank to within 2 feet of the bow sticking up, obviously complicating the rescue. The swimmer had to climb onto 2 sterns, lined up in parallel and in conjuction with another boat carefully de-water the boat. Absolute, frickin trainwreck.
Dogmaticus
LeeG said: "My goals are making the hatches absolutely secure and not susceptible to catching things. The tabs don’t catch anthing. The cam levers do. You can tighten each nylock on each tab so that the force required to move them is firm and not loose. With the cam straps if you loosen a strap you immediately loosen 1/3 or 2/3 of the hatch closure. With the swiveling dogs you might move one or two in a rescue but they woudn’t necessarily move 90+ degrees.
hatch not flush at first
But they will be flush after time. The gasket will compress. Mine was up a 1/4" or so at first also.
dogmat
what kind of hatch was it and on what kind of kayak? Number of tabs? The thing is that they can be screwed down as loose as a propeller or snug. I used a fastek buckle in the middle for tether and quick partial closure.
I built a Chesapeake 18 with a flat aft deck for big guys in a basic sea kayaking class. Those hatches are held down with three Fastek buckles and 1" webbing. During the rescue the 260lb fellow grabbed the webbing strap while clambering on the back deck and it snapped in his hand. Good thing there were two left.
On one of the boats I made the tabs were triangular so it they had to be turned through a wider arc to get off the hatch.