Trick to sealing necky hatches?

Advice
#1

I have an old necky chatham 16. I love the boat and it fits me perfectly. My only issue is the hatches are not watertight. I thought I had seen some mention on these message boards about sealing the hatches on necky boats but can’t find anything in a search. Any suggestions?



thanks

#2

Wasn’t a Necky but I solved mine
by using a thin , durable door seal with self adhesive backing.

#3

Resealing
I resealed a Chatham I had years ago. Have to unbolt all the screws locking the plastic rim and detach it from the hull. Scrape off the old sealant from both the hull and hatch rim. I’d clean both surfaces with either rubbing alcohol or a little bit of paint thinner. Then apply sealant liberally to both sides and bolt it all back together. Some sealant will get squeezed out in the process, use a gloved finger to make it look like a nice continuous bead and smooth it out. Let it sit until dry then test it out.

#4

Re Resealing
Thanks very much for the advice. What type of sealant do you recommend?

#5

Did the same
I did the same. Used Lexell.

#6

Anything, Lexcell, 3M101

– Last Updated: Mar-04-16 7:22 AM EST –

if you go the adhesive/sealant route instead of a gasket make sure to not screw the flange tight, maybe one turn from tight, wait a few days for goop to cure fully then finish tightening. On a lot of those kayaks the thin plastic is flexible enough that the space between screws allowed for gaps and movement that simply pulled the goop away.

Back in the first few years of the Chathams release they still didn't figure it out. One Chatham would have no roughening of the two surfaces, one would have the hatch ring roughened but not the deck another one had the deck roughened but not the ring. The adhesive sealant they used could have worked with better prep of the deck. As mentioned above using a compressible gasket works just as well, you can use weather strip tape, neoprene.

Hold onto those boats, they aren't making them anymore. I wish they added a few more lbs of plastic to make them stiffer.

#7

Re Resealing
Thank you… and I had no idea they stopped making the rotomolded Chathams! Last I checked they were still making them, I wonder when they discontinued them, and why. What a bummer… I guess I will indeed hang onto mine.