Leaking lockers
This seems to be true for all Hawk 20s day boats whether old or new. What is the root cause? Probably not any single factor, but a combination of the inaccuracy of the mould used to make the locker upstand, and the thickness (or rather thinness) of the sealing strips used under the locker lids. A friend who owned and raced one of the very first Hawk 20 day boats in the early 1990s had the same leaking lockers. When he looked at our Hawk day boat he found the problem still existed. Its possible that the problem may have been cured on cabin boats as a new mould will have had to be made for the locker upstands and cockpit, but I don’t have any definitive information for this.
The starboard locker is the side where you first notice the problem. It appears the upstand of the locker lip is not high enough to make a good watertight seal with the supplied seals under the locker lid. Water enters the locker when the gunwales go under, or a wave comes over. From experience, a locker full of water slows the boat down, hampers handling, can contaminate your fuel if you leave the breather open, and if you kept dry clothes in there, consider befriending damp dogs you meet.
Several people have come up with solutions to this thorny issue:
1) Either remove Reid Marine’s existing sealing strip and refit thicker strips. Starboard on a day boat seems to need 19mm (could be different for new cabin version moulds), whereas port uses 16mm.
2) Or, run a bead of sealant around the locker upstand to fill the gap to the existing rubber strip.
3) Or, some success is reported using tap washers between the hinge and top surface of the locker so the lid is further depressed and the existing sealing strip presses more firmly against the locker lip upstand.
2) Or, run a bead of sealant around the locker upstand to fill the gap to the existing rubber strip.
3) Or, some success is reported using tap washers between the hinge and top surface of the locker so the lid is further depressed and the existing sealing strip presses more firmly against the locker lip upstand.
If leaking lockers are caused by mould inaccuracy, this will probably continue until the existing mould reaches the end of its economic life. CML(Composite Moulding Ltd), who make the hull, will then have to make a new mould and hopefully take the opportunity to increase the height of the locker upstand. Alternatively Reid’s could take a pragmatic view and fit thicker seals. Leaking lockers are relatively easily fixed, however it is a source of frustration in a basically good boat.
In terms of cost, the cheapest solution is the tap washer trick. The bead of silicone sealant is the next cheapest costing a tube of sealant (£8), a roll of masking or electrical insulation tape, Methylated Spirit for cleaning, and pence for the Vaseline. Finally the most expensive is to replace the strip, which costs £30 for good quality self-adhesive neoprene strip, plus acetone for degreasing the surface of the lid.
The bead of silicone sealant. Solution developed by David Mellor.
Although the starboard side is by far the worst, both lockers tend to leak badly in my experience if a wave comes aboard.
Incidentally, before I forget, it is best to seal all four standing sides of each locker because if the cockpit fills up water enters the lockers under the front of the lids as well as more usually under the sides and back of the lids.
After experimenting with various sealants I have found that the best one for the job is marine silicone rubber not least because it will set when exposed to Vaseline.
The procedure/method is as follows:
1) Wash the existing seals (on the lids) and the standing surfaces of the lockers with fresh water and allow to dry completely.
2) Cover the existing seals on the locker lids with 3 cm wide good quality masking tape e.g. 3M.
3) Clean the standing locker surfaces with Methylated spirits and allow it to evaporate.4) Coat the masking tape, covering the lid seals, with a thin layer of Vaseline.
5) Load a 310 ml tube of white marine grade silicone rubber into a sealant gun and put a 10 cm long 1 cm thick worm of silicone onto a piece of wood or cardboard. This will be your reference piece to check how quickly the silicone is going off.
6) Apply a 1 cm thick layer of silicone on the standing parts of both lockers making sure that the silicone will be clear of the lid inner edges when the lid is shut.7) Let the silicone partly cure so that on pressing that which has been applied to the wood /card board it does not stick to the finger or burst. Shut the lids and keep closed for 24 hours.
8) Allowing the silicon to partly cure before closing the locker lids for the first time enables the sealant to retain some bulk so that it is not flattened too much when the lids are shut for the final curing process. The silicone will then provide a better seal. However, if the silicone is allowed to cure for too long before the lids are closed, the locker catches will be under too much pressure for comfortable use when the curing process has been completed.
9) Lift the lids, remove the masking tape and trim off the surplus silicone with a sharp knife.
After the resealing, it maybe thought that the masking tape and Vaseline were not required. This would be the case if the partial curing has been judged correctly but on each occasion when resealing lockers, having now done the job on Hawks owned by four friends, my nerves have not been strong enough to risk it.
Editor note: Seems very sensible to put some release agent on the tape so the silicone sticks firmly to the upstand and not the lid as well. It is a pain to get silicone off one side while keeping it stuck to the other. I’ve now tried this solution on a friend’s Hawk and am impressed with the simplicity and speed of the fix. The locker has stayed dry in F5/6 races, i.e. water in lots of places.
Replacing the locker sealing strip. Used by many in Christchurch.
These notes are to help you replace the seals under the locker lid. This method was first tried out on sail number 189 in 2002 and has worked solidly over seven seasons.
When I first started looking into this and doing my own lockers, the material was only supplied in lengths “not quite long enough to do a locker”. This could have changed in the last year as I have not had to help with any other Hawks recently. Nominally you need 2.64 metres of 40mm wide strip for each locker, so you had to buy two rolls per locker. The best way to keep the cost down to £30’ish per locker is to team up with other Hawks that need the mod.
I suggest you buy strip that is 40mm wide as the locker upstand on the hinge line exerts a side load on the sealing strip as you close the locker. You don’t want the strip to be pushed to one side. Note the starboard locker requires 19mm thick strip, whereas port requires 16mm thick strip. If you try 19mm strip for the port locker, it will not close.
Since the manufacture of the cabin version the cockpit mould appears to have changed, as the 19mm sealing strip was too thick and a locker lid would not close on an early cabin version (sail number in low 500s). The moral is, if you have a recently made cabin boat with leaking lockers, and are unsure about the thickness of strip required, consider the bead of silicone sealant solution, or speak with Peter Reid to see if he can identify when this changed.
The procedure/ method:
1) Remove all traces of the existing strip. Use scrapers as necessary.
2) A yellow glue residue is left on the lid and you will need to remove this completely for the new strip to hold. A stainless steel “brillo type” scouring pad (not a green plastic one or the steel wool one with soap) may be useful to scour away the residue and prep the surface of the gel coat. You see these scouring pads in hardware shops and the supermarket.
3) When you see clean white glass fibre all around the underside of the lid, degrease thoroughly using Methylated Spirit. (Editor note: While meths is a good cleaner, I prefer to use acetone when degreasing).
4) Stick on the strip nearest to the hinge first. Check the measurement for the strip to go across the full width of the locker, nominally 1.00 metre. Take care not to cut it short, as it will compress.
5) Remove backing paper progressively as you work along the strip.
6) Then do the sides. Check the measurement, nominally 0.36 metres, from the edge of the strip you have just stuck in, to the front locker lip. Again, take care not to cut it short, as it will compress.
7) Finally do the front edge. Check the measurement for the strip to fit snugly in between the two side strips, nominally 0.92 metres. Yet again, take care not to cut it short as it will compress, and if anything, cut this one generously so you don’t leave a gap.
8) Now close the locker. Until the seals bed in, the locker will be VERY tight to close, so much so, that you will see a bow in the locker lid. Eventually the seal will retain a distinct impression where it makes contact with the mating locker upstand, and the bow in the lid will diminish.
If you find the self-adhesive layer has come off the strip, or the strip has detached from the locker lid, it is unlikely to stick back. Rather than using another new piece of strip I have had success picking the self adhesive off the strip (it is a very time consuming job if you are to avoid damaging the surface of the strip), degreasing everything with acetone, then using Evo-Stik Trade TX528, a more industrial thixotropic version of normal Evo-stik impact adhesive.
Editor note: I replaced the starboard seal on my Hawk using this method. It took a long time and a lot of elbow grease to get the yellow glue residue off the lid. If I had used a stainless steel scouring pad, I would likely have got the residue off much faster. Knowing what I now know, I suggest the first method you chose is the bead of silicone sealant, as it costs less and is pretty fast, and only replace the sealing strip when the original is showing signs of fatigue.
The tap washer trick as told to me by Rom Meager.
Rom said he got this tip some years ago from a boat based at Windermere. It’s a simple and quick way to increase the downward pressure of the locker lid against the upstand, so the existing sealing strip forms a tighter seal.
Method: Undo the locker lid bolts on the hinge and put a tap washer between the hinge bracket and the top of the locker lid (so the lid is 1/8th inch further away from the metal hinge). Use a tap washer for each bolt if you have got space (or enough tap washers).
How well does it work? Rom has now used it on two boats, and while both have taken in some water in heavy seas, he reports it is much less than it used to be.
Editor note: Simple and quick. This method will improve the seal at the hinge line, but obviously the sealing strip does not get extra compression at the front of the locker where the catches are. So you should still plan on some water coming in.
Got leaking lockers?
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
