Locking down the hatch

[roadrashracing]

Has anyone come up with a way to keep the hatch in in a blow over, it allways comes off in the front, besides hatch tape.

[spartanonfire]

Yeah, mine turned into a buoy the other day, even with hatch tape it got sucked off on the front. I've been brainstorming and have a few ideas. Once I try them and ensure they work I'll post up picks.

[roadrashracing]

I glassed the top of mine tring to make it more stiff, it fits tight so i help it works. I think its just flexable enough that it bends in any flip over.

[spartanonfire]

The flexability of the thin cover is certainly most of the issue. I was looking at a few different ways to pin the front in, but feared that enough force could occur to crack the plastic and rip it from the pin. I like your idea of glassing it. I'm going to try reinforcing the underside with some west coast systems epoxy mixed with a structural filler. Thanks for the idea. :-)

[roadrashracing]

I will let you know of my results

[roadrashracing]

I ran myu boat hard today, going full speed and quick turns, flips and spills, I could not dislodge the hatch, at the end of the run it was out of the grove a little bit, but it did not come off.

[spartanonfire]

I filled mine with colloidal silica mixed into the west systems epoxy. It seems MUCH stiffer. Ill be trying it out this weekend.

[spartanonfire]

Ok, I highly recommend this mod. I submarined my boat twice at high speed while playing with battery position, and flipped it multiple times. The lid never dislodged even a little bit. I'll post some pics up shortly.

[Snafujg]

Spartanonfire, any luck with those pics? I would love to see how you did this with the hatch. I had a flip last weekend and my hatch came off. Then a wave came up over the back of the boat before I got to it and sunk the hull. BUOY syndrome. I've been trying to figure out how people are reinforcing their hatches.

[spartanonfire]

Here you go. I lightly sanded the surface to help it bond, then wiped it clean with rubbing alcohol. Mix the colloidal silicate with the epoxy until it forms a peanut butter like consistency. You can use a brush when applying it to make it look nicer, but I chose to use my fingers.(with surgical gloves on). The lines left by my fingers provided additional stiffness. I'm considering coating the inside of the hull along the seams with this mixture as well. For now I used 5200 marine sealant on the seams to help reinforce them. The rear hull seam on the transom started to separate after a really bad high speed flip.