Up the Hatch!
Published August 14, 2009 | 
Strap yourself to a tree with roots
You aint going nowhere.
– dylan
This lovely bit of artwork is what you get when you take a picture of the flooded fifth hatch in your Scorpio. It’s not as if I left the cover off or anything. It simply fills (and I mean fills) with water if I roll the kayak. I don’t believe it’s the kayak. I think it’s the hatch cover. Let me tell you why…
Snap-on style cover used on day hatches on a variety of kayak brands & P&H Scorpio’s deck hatch as well
First off I’m sure whomever knows the plastics used to make Kayak Sport Snap-on hatch covers could give me the whole pitch as to why what I’m about to say won’t happen. On the other hand it usually takes a few years on the market before we really know if there are any kinks in most products. I’ve asked around a bit and unless you tell me different I’m hearing that there are not really any issues with these fairly new snap-on hatch covers from Kayak Sport. Maybe it’s just me.. Like this would be the first time!
You see, I’ve had one of these hatch covers before, on my Rockpool. Well, I should say, “I once did”. It blew off the boat just a week ago. I noticed almost a year ago it was starting to lose its “snap”. The cover just sort of sat on the day hatch. It didn’t come off, and only a bit of water was getting in. Still, it spun around and did not give the impression of being all that secure. It bothered me enough that one day I grabbed an old rubber hatch cover off my NDK just to see if it would fit. It didn’t. Oh well, the kayak was only 2 years old and I assumed the “experts” knew more than I did and it would stay on. Suffice to say I need a new hatch cover!
The Scorpio uses the same plastic snap-on covers on the day hatch and on the deck hatch. They actually use the more secure rubber Tupperware style hatch on the Cetus. Go figure! With plastic boats there is always a bit of size variation. Plastic is effected by heat, color and other factors during manufacture. At first glance I’d guess the snap on covers simply don’t have the tolerance for the slight variations in plastic kayaks. Given my experience with the Rockpool cover, I also see that the snap on covers may loosen up a bit over time which simply aggravates the issue. Eventually on plastic kayaks they may just fall off. Time will tell. The snap-on covers may be fine. Maybe my experiences are just minor blips on the radar. But I can tell you for my part I’d always request old style rubber hatches over the snap-on versions.
I talked to someone over at P&H and we are going to grab a rubber hatch and see if that will fit securely. I’m pretty sure that will solve the issue if it fits. Sometimes we’re all in the same learning process together. We’ll see what happens.
Do you have Snap-on hatch covers? How are they working for you?
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9 Responses to Up the Hatch!
Could it be why Valley and Nigel Dennis polyethylene kayaks have glass (or hard plastic?) inserts to hold hatch covers?
I have one on the day hatch of a kayak I built. It keeps the water out during rolling and seems to be secure. Still, I don’t trust it and would have rather have had a rubber hatch.
I am using a Nordkapp and the hatches are perfect -just bought new ones after 11 years of frequent paddling and expeditions at the Baltic Sea, in all seasons and also temps close to zero Centigrades!
Being a Finn, I was surprised to learn about your problems. The Kayak Sport hatches have fairly good reputation around here (considering the climate and weather, though I personally find them large and a bit ‘soft’ or ‘slack’ for my taste. Valley’s Nordkapp hatchers are more stiff.
Hey Ari,
Just for clarity I think Kayak Sport hatches are great in general. I’m specifically referring to the newer “snap-on” type.
Hi Derrick:
What you say about being in the learning process together is right on. Sometimes we find that one spec for a boat works a bit better than another. I will be curious to see if you have better luck with the rubber hatch. I believe that the boats are generally spec-ed with the rubber hatch now. Please keep me in the loop.
I wonder about your rigid hatch on the Rockpool. Maybe is is just a fluke? Your comment is the first that I have ever heard about the snap-on Kayaksport hatches wearing over time. We have been using them on the dayhatches of our boats for a couple of seasons now with no complaints. Everything that I have heard and seen about the hatches has been positive–lighter, easier to use, good lifespan–maybe you just got a bad one.
Thanks for the post, it is good to hear feedback of all kinds.
Brian–P&H Northeast Guy
Derrick,
This may be more a factor of the rim than the hatch. We have several Scorpios in our fleet and haven’t had much of a problem other than a little moisture wicking in through the tether point or user error. You’re right on with regard to heat shrink…it’s factored for in the manufacturing process, but there will always be some variation. My hypothesis is that the hard plastic “click” hatch cover, being less flexible, has less leeway if there’s any distortion to the rim (and it only takes micrometers to let water in). The rubber hatches probably allow a greater margin of error. Looking forward to hearing that this is resolved soon!
Derrick,
I’ve seen brand new kayaks with hatches that would barely hold. A 4 year old girl’s pinky could knock the cover off the hatch. Completely unseaworthy, but maybe okay for beachside recreation.
As you’ve noted, speed-of-cooling out of the mold seems to be the issue. Manufacturers cannot always control inside factory temperatures. Worse, order rushes force them to cool their hull molds faster causing unplanned and un-designed shrinkage. We are speaking kayaks, here, yes? JUST kayaks!
The glued-in plastic lipped type are in my experience far more reliable, yet are slightly heavier (assumed) and take more manhours ($$) for their installation. Staff then must actually seal them properly to be water-tight. They are easy to re-seal when caulking ages, or if messed up at manufacture.
An overly loose rubber hatch mounted directly on the deck plastic which has no outer lip to be able to hold an added bungee for additional tensioning, as is typical, is impossible to repair even with the help of the Force.
(Little green guy stoops over plastic kayak muttering and cursing… must practice more patience… must practice patience…)
If we take your nearly-impossible-to-rescue recreation kayak, improve it with bulkheads and deck-lines, but make its hatches useless for anything except upright paddling in very calm waters, (While still charging four to five times the cost of the Colemen 94), have we made any REAL improvements in safety and seaworthiness? Lake-worthiness, even?
Paddling stores are sometimes forced to sell low-quality batches (rather than returning them to manufacturer) just to stay in business. Big general stores wouldn’t even notice the defect. The industry deserves a gentle wake-up on this one, and those who build them right should toot their horns loudly!
Ahhh, the ongoing joys of a finely-made and beloved boat!
MarcP
I’ve had my Scorpio a little over a month and my dayhatch cover on the fifth hatch also leaks whenever rolled. If I get back up quickly not much water gets in, but if not, the hatchs fills up with water. All the other hatches are completely dry-not sure what the issue is. Haven’t had any indication that the hatch would actually come off-just water getting in when upside down.
Don M
Hi Don:
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your Scorpio knee tube hatch. Can you help me with a few details? Which hatch do you have on the boat, the snap-on hatch or the rubber hatch? What color is your boat?
Thanks,
Brian
P&H Northeast Guy