Werner Hamp wrote:
... I have a slight leak along the seam which has yet to be adequately addressed...
I was thinking about your hinge, Werner. Having seen it firsthand, I think this might be a great long-term solution, with a good seal. At present, however, I'm in and out of the work engine room several times a day, working on the wiring, etc. As such, it's easier for me to have access to the entire opening. But, with impending rain, I'm constantly removing and reinserting the floor.
I might have a good solution for leaks around the conventional floor, with a little modification. Your situation is somewhat different, but perhaps the idea will work for you too. See what you think.
As I see it, there are two primary requirements for sealing the floor.
- A tight fastening system
- A good weather seal
A handful of bolts and nuts will handle the first requirement. But since this is so incredibly time-consuming, I suspect too many owners simply set the floor in place and don't bother to fasten it at all. Although I haven't installed them yet, I think the De-Sta-Co fasteners will end up being an great solution with regard to speed and convenience, as well as integrity at sea.
The weather seal itself is always a challenge, since most of the stuff you find readily available permanently compresses and becomes useless, especially when use on a not-perfectly-fitting joint. The foam insulation that comes with peel-off sticky-back adhesive is probably the most used and least effective. A much better solution is a gasket made of rubber (preferably silicone), as it holds up much better. To be effective, it must be a hollow, extruded gasket, as this allows for greater compression, with positive return to its original shape. Avoid any of the foam gaskets. Although I know nothing about this company,
this page has several examples of good possibilities. Following are several examples (bad and good). My own preference would probably be the 2nd or 4th example.
Good gaskets will help considerably. But since the surfaces of the footwell and the floor are NOT perfect, gaskets will still not be a perfect solution for those who choose not to securely fasten in the floor. I suspect that the majority of the water that finds its way into the engine compartment does so by simply running over the floor, around and under the edge, and on into the compartment... the same way that a leak on the deck manages to find its way to a number of unlikely places within the interior of the boat.
If one were to construct a simple flange around the outer edge of the floor insert, the water would drip into the channel designed for this purpose and could not follow the lip of the floor and into the engine compartment. Even with NO gasket at all, this should stop most of the leaks... at least until the water was high enough to fill the shallow recess that drains into the scuppers. With a proper gasket, it should stop all of the leaks, even without fastening the floor. (I do not, however, think it wise to leave the floor unattached -- at least well enough to keep it from falling out should something unexpected happen.) This is basically the design that keeps water from leaking into a conventional lazarette.
Werner - I have seen your hinged and split floor, but do not recall how it was constructed. Perhaps a similar modification would work for you as well. When you have a change, please post a photo of your hinge mod.
Jack
