Significant water under cockpit floor on 07 CD-25: Normal ?

[Bill.Secure]

Ping pong ball type scuppers will only work in the older CD-25s where the scuppers exit from the transom. On the newer CD-25s, the scuppers exit from the sides and the ping pong ball type scuppers would be dragged through the water.

Bill
Edgewater, MD

[seahooked]

A few days ago I did a little more investigating on my leaking hatches. Before removing the hatch lids I put an even coat of black paint on the sealing gaskets and closed each. The imprint of the paint on the adjacent hatch show how poorly the gaskets are sealing. This appears to be happening because the bottom surface of the lid is so rough and uneven. I previously believed the port lid was warped, however after looking closer it appears to be lacking material instead (note the upper right hand corner on the lower lid in the photo where not black paint exists).



Based on these finding as well as the comments from others, my approach is now:
- sand or grind the entire sealing surface on the bottom of each lid until smooth and even all around.
- build up (with epoxy) the upper right hand corner of the bottom of the port lid until it is in the same plane as the rest of the sealing surface.
- stiffen the lid by constructing and attaching (with epoxy and screws, but not thru bolting) rectangular brackets to the bottom of each lid.
- repair the cut gasket

During my investigation I found a screw and tack underneath the edge of the gasket in the hinge area of one of the lids. These had obviously been overlooked during manufacturing and had severely cut the gasket in that area (as well as kept the lid from closing all the way in the area around this hinge). It was apparent that this was an additional source of leakage.

[seahooked]

I finished my modification to the cockpit hatches this weekend. This includes:
- sanding the sealing surfaces until smooth
- filling in the "missing" material on the portside hatch with epoxy
- constructed brackets with 1/8" thick 6063 Al (ultra corrosion-resistant) angle and anodized cross bars. Bolted the latch and hinges into the brackets. All stainless fastners.
- used center spacers to preload the lid with an 1/8" total downward bend (per Sea Skipper's recommendation). Attached with epoxy and wood screws.
- repaired the damaged gasket and filled the gaskets seams with RTV.



I haven't tested the hatches yet as the gelcoat coating on the sealing surface isn't completely dry. I will be disappointed if these guys are pretty watertight. I went to quite a bit of effort to get them as perfect as possible- my engineering side kicking in. Anyway, time will tell.