I cannot close the dry storage lid of my Venture Kayak.
Any quick fix suggestions please?
takes some finesse
– Last Updated: Jul-28-16 12:05 PM EST –
I presume you mean the rubber stern bulkhead hatch cover and not the plastic deck pod ahead of the cockpit?
I have a Venture Easky 15 with the same rubber hatch covers and I know they can be tricky. The sealing lip on the lid has a sort of complicated profile -- getting it on is sort of like sealing a zip-lock Baggie. You can't just push down on it, you have to start at one end, line it up and then smooth the rest of it.
I suggest taking the cover off and looking closely at the underside of the lip so you have a visual on how it has to line up on the edge of the hatch. You can't get it to seal by laying the whole cover down and trying to mash it onto the hatch. You have to flex it and start along one side, pressing a small section of the lid onto the lip of the hatch until you can be sure both the inside and outside of it are snugly engaged. Then press along the lid in one direction around the hatch, sealing it as you go. Sometimes you have to put a lot of pressure on the last few inches to get it to pop in.
It's kind of hard to describe this, but I think if you fiddle with it with these instructions you'll eventually have that "aha!" moment and see how it works.
Watch the video
There’s a video on youtube that explains the easiest way to get these hatches on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY2hyhIrhK4
Simply sit on the rear of the kayak. Seat the rear lip of the hatch cover, then stretch the front of the cover over the front lip like you were attaching a spray skirt and then fit the edges around the hatch.
Have you found your Venture Flex 11 to be a little slow? I had hoped it wouldn’t be as slow as the usual rec boat because it is only 25" wide, but it’s as slow as the others as far as I can tell. That said, I’m new to kayaking this year and I may not have my paddling form down correctly yet.