Sealing cockpit lockers

[zz4gta]

Currently the lockers that are under the cockpit seats let in rain water and some water from waves. There is no real 'seal' just a lip that is supposed to catch the water and drain it around the opening and spill it onto the cockpit floor. Is there some sort of weather stripping that I put around the lip to better seal off these lockers?

It's a problem with mildew and creatures hanging out in the 2-3" of standing water in in the stern. Any other gasket like material I can use that won't get stuck to the locker doors in the hot sun? Won't fall apart like foam after a year of use?

[pvanv1]

Had the same issue on our HR28. Added drains to the bottom of the lockers, and added TACO hatch tape to the underside of the lid. The tape is applied to 3 edges (the hinge side and the fore and aft ends), so that it is unsealed at the lip, allowing air to circulate and dry things out even when closed.

The hatch tape works OK, but the best thing is the drain, so that whatever does get in can find its way out. If your lockers can be drilled in a lower corner for drains, that's the best aid in this case. Ours drain to the cockpit footwell, which is a self-draining cockpit, so it all ends up going down the cockpit scuppers.

[zz4gta]

I'll have to check for drains near the divider wall that separates the lockers from the cabin. These areas would drain to the bilge, but at least its a central area I can pump out. Thanks.

[ereiss]

On my Freedom there is a neoprene 1/2 by 2 strip with adhesive on one side which forms a seal around the lid of the lazarette. I found my replacement through a fellow Freedom owner who had bought too much and sold me his surplus. Perhaps an inquiry on the yahoo freedom board might get you an answer.

best of luck

Ed Reiss

[negrini]

Tapes and auto-adhesive are good ones, but if gap between seat and door lockers (like ours) a good rubber gasket, "O" shape, will be beter than several layers of tape.

[pvanv1]

Careful about draining anything to the bilge. Once saw a sunken 26-footer that got that way because the owner thought it good to drain the cockpit into the bilge. Duh.

If you have a self-bailing cockpit, maybe you can drain the lockers to a T fitting at the cockpit drains.

[merc2dogs]

On a couple of boats I've used the soft foam pipe insulation tubes sold at hardware stores. It's a closed cell foam, normally shiny grey or black, but I've seen it in white. Not an elegant solution, but works well and softens the edge.
It works especially well when there is a fairly large gap, or a wildly inconsistant one.

Ken.