Nope. Not all of them.
VCP hatch covers are junk and it appears that the only way that we’ll get them to change the material is if we stop buying them and switch to a better quality product like the SeaLect covers, which don’t rot away.
Just an update, a friend just had to replace a Valley day hatch cover, got one at Maine Sport. But logo was Necky. Turns out Valley is making them for Necky.
I am going to pass on my Thurs night musical commitment in spring and go back to the pool on wet work for both sides. Then get Sealect hatch covers and bring Jim’s Nordlow back out in the water. Won’t even bother with Valley.
@Celia said:
Just an update, a friend just had to replace a Valley day hatch cover, got one at Maine Sport. But logo was Necky. Turns out Valley is making them for Necky.
I am going to pass on my Thurs night musical commitment in spring and go back to the pool on wet work for both sides. Then get Sealect hatch covers and bring Jim’s Nordlow back out in the water. Won’t even bother with Valley.
I guess I didn’t have my Nordlow long enough to have the hatches go bad… 
I really want to give the Nordlow a season on the water at least. But while l got my right side mostly back, the left is a disaster. And no nordlow w/o both sides being on tap.
@Celia said:
I really want to give the Nordlow a season on the water at least. But while l got my right side mostly back, the left is a disaster. And no nordlow w/o both sides being on tap.
The Nordlow will dance with you but you have to know all the steps. I loved mine until one day, then I went and bought my “Bou” back, sort of the Peter Principle.
She is a sleek boat and surprisingly quick. And while officially a little big for me rolls ridiculously easy once I have my act together. When Jim got it and I was really dialed in I usually had to stop the roll lest I window shade. Not a boat for taking chances and likely not a great rescue platform compared to the Romany. But a sweet boat used with some prudent cautions. And at my age, there is a limited time left of my feeling like it will be a good idea.
@CD1 said:
VCP: Large cover $65 Small cover $35
Almost the same price as a tire.I’m with Greyak.
When did you last buy tires? Just had to buy front ones for my riding ower.
Almost $50 each.
HAtTCHES
http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2012/06/gear-sea-lect-designs-hatch-covers.html
Scroll down to see the ugly VCP before, the transformation process, and the (still, almost 10 years later) beautiful Sealects after
And, yeah, tires are a lot more these days than when Kris commented! It a good thing only our cars need expensive shoes (hmmm, how bad are cart wheels these days…???) to consider if/when we drive put boats to
PADDLE ON!
Frank in Miami
@Celia said:
Why is anyone reviving a severely out of date thread? There ARE quite acceptable replacements for the Valley hatch covers now, from Sealect. And I looked at the site for NW kayaks. I don’t know this brand, but again there are alternatives available if someone has totally horrid luck with the Valley hatch covers.
Hi, I just joined this forum. It is timely that this issue with VCP hatches is revived TQ. For the last 3 years I had been looking for alternative replacement hatches. I had bought a fleet of 20 North Shore Atlantic RM kayaks 4 years ago. All yes all except one 8" hatch survived. "Applying “303” does not work. I have many hatches on other kayaks and though more that 10 years they still hold up.
Found Kajak Sport hatches don’t fit the VCP Kayak hatches. I bought 3 hatches to only find the 8" made for VCP kayak works. the two 10" just don’t fit. Went as far back to a post by Gnarly Dog in Australia and even called him to get a lead on the Sealect Hatches. I don’t relish putting in new rim seats for 20 kayaks.
So thank you for reviving this issue. Seems many people are affected and VCP has not done anything since 2009. I won’y buy VCP hatches for replacements. My new and spare hatches had all disintegrated within 3 years. Yes some of the hatches are new and stored in doors. They disintegrated like the soles on China made branded shoes stored in cupboard.
I have decided to mould and casting new hatches with UV resistant rubber that will at least last 10 years.
Read your post that the Necky 8" was made by VCP for Necky. So I will avoid them. I had called Necky thinking they would be good replacements. Anyhow they only have 8 " hatches. None for the 10" and the Oval hatches. After reading your post I will give it a miss
PakaRiverman
I have a VCP hatch problem to solve for this coming season and plan to get Sealects. I hve confirmed they fit the rims from othe
r s with Valley boats.
I have some Sealects as replacements for Valley now. Yes, thankfully they fit right onto the existing Valley rims. I just had another Valley cover come apart a couple months ago. It is correct that the covers made by VCP with the Necky logo are the same stuff. They crumble apart just the same. Had an entire set (2 ovals and round) as replacements for a couple of years on my Nigel Foster Legend. That set seemed exceptionally short-lived. But there’s no telling how long they were stored before I bought them. My luck with them has been a 2 - 4 year range. Another problem is that, like the case in this most recent one, I thought it was still in good condition, and when I carefully snapped it onto the rim, it cracked in almost a complete circle, the center drooping down into the hatch. I still haven’t had a Kajaksport hatch cover fail. I have several sets of originals that are over 15 years old.
I am happy for this zombie revival. 3 days ago, I discovered that I could look into the day hatch of my Valley Q-boat, without opening the hatch cover. I already knew that it was in not so good condition, but now all the surface cracks had expanded all the way through the material.
This thread made me discover the Sea-Lect hatces, and I have just ordered one.
@PakaRiverman said:
@Celia said:
Why is anyone reviving a severely out of date thread? There ARE quite acceptable replacements for the Valley hatch covers now, from Sealect. And I looked at the site for NW kayaks. I don’t know this brand, but again there are alternatives available if someone has totally horrid luck with the Valley hatch covers.Hi, I just joined this forum. It is timely that this issue with VCP hatches is revived TQ. For the last 3 years I had been looking for alternative replacement hatches. I had bought a fleet of 20 North Shore Atlantic RM kayaks 4 years ago. All yes all except one 8" hatch survived. "Applying “303” does not work. I have many hatches on other kayaks and though more that 10 years they still hold up.
Found Kajak Sport hatches don’t fit the VCP Kayak hatches. I bought 3 hatches to only find the 8" made for VCP kayak works. the two 10" just don’t fit. Went as far back to a post by Gnarly Dog in Australia and even called him to get a lead on the Sealect Hatches. I don’t relish putting in new rim seats for 20 kayaks.
So thank you for reviving this issue. Seems many people are affected and VCP has not done anything since 2009. I won’y buy VCP hatches for replacements. My new and spare hatches had all disintegrated within 3 years. Yes some of the hatches are new and stored in doors. They disintegrated like the soles on China made branded shoes stored in cupboard.
I have decided to mould and casting new hatches with UV resistant rubber that will at least last 10 years.
Read your post that the Necky 8" was made by VCP for Necky. So I will avoid them. I had called Necky thinking they would be good replacements. Anyhow they only have 8 " hatches. None for the 10" and the Oval hatches. After reading your post I will give it a missPakaRiverman
@Celia said:
I have a VCP hatch problem to solve for this coming season and plan to get Sealects. I hve confirmed they fit the rims from othe
r s with Valley boats.
What size VCP hatch are you replacing? The Sealect hatches comes as a set of rim & hatch.
Need 60 hatches replaced. 20 of each hatch size. A very costly replacement exercise. Enquiries to have moulds made and hatches produced in China came to a dead end with uncertainty of material used and a logistical headache.
To compound the matter, the NorthShore Atlantic RM has a smaller than standard oval VCP rear hatch. I have not been able to find any hatches to fit it.
I will be getting moulds made and get new hatches for my Kayaks from another source. Hopefully no hiccups after almost 4 years search.
Will appreciate any helpful suggestions from anyone.
I plan to get into the pool this year and be ready to come out in a Nordlow, haven’t measure the hatches but I think they are the same as the Aquanaut. Two large ovals and I think the day hatch is an 8 inch but don’t quote me on that.
@PakaRiverman One thing I skipped over, I have no idea what you mean by having to buy the rims too. I went back and looked at the Sealect site, which has what I have seen in some paddling stores. Just the hatch covers. Including ones specifically labeled for VCP. But if I am guessing what that means I may skip them, Original VCP covers had a kind of double seal which was drier than most big ovals, but I often could not release on my husband’s boat. At least if he needed something grabbed while we were on the water. If the VCP flavors have that, I will go with regular ones and keep my dry bags for the bulkheads in good shape in the bulkheads.
I also found plenty of sources of hatch only. If you type Sealect Design VCP Hatches in Google and select shopping, you will get options. The cheapest one I see for the oval is $69.95, but there is shipping on top. A $79.95 option comes with free shipping and no tax. But if you are buying a few, perhaps the cheaper price one might work out as a better deal if they group shipping.
The new size on some Valley/North Shore boats (Valley Gemini also uses) seems to be something you can only get from Valley for now.
Necky no longer sells boats (let alone boats with oval hatches), so that route isn’t an option any more.
I replaced a smaller day hatch with the Sea-Lect style a few years back. It’s not bad, and has held up ok - with a little cracking where the flexible rubber-like part meets the hard plastic. It’s been as water tight as anything else I’ve owned. However, I do find that making sure it’s on properly is a bit of a task. Having to smack it in the centre while rotated and having my arm/shoulder flexed behind me is not a great position to be in.
If I had to do it over, I may go with the original VCP style. When I replaced my two oval hatches I decided to go genuine VCP because I just really like the way they work, despite sometimes having a short lifespan.
@Celia said:
@PakaRiverman One thing I skipped over, I have no idea what you mean by having to buy the rims too. I went back and looked at the Sealect site, which has what I have seen in some paddling stores. Just the hatch covers. Including ones specifically labeled for VCP. But if I am guessing what that means I may skip them, Original VCP covers had a kind of double seal which was drier than most big ovals, but I often could not release on my husband’s boat. At least if he needed something grabbed while we were on the water. If the VCP flavors have that, I will go with regular ones and keep my dry bags for the bulkheads in good shape in the bulkheads.
I had call them last year and was told that I had to buy them as a set. See the photos attached. If it fits, you need not cut off the original rims and replace them with the ones provided. This is not that difficult if it is for one kayak.
