Engine Bay Covers

[BlueLancer]

How do the covers for your engine fit so as to prevent water ingress. Fitting new decking to Felicitas, she has never had flush fitting decks before.Plan to have open centre deck well with flush covers over engines, cabins fore and aft.

 

[Ripster]

Difficult to describe without the benefit of a picture, but on my Lazarette hatch (which is quite large) the hole has a gutter all the way round the edge about 2 inches deep and two inches across. A drain pipe connects to this which goes out to a skin fitting about 12" above the water line - allowing for a decent level of fall. On the hatch panel, there a lip that sits deep into the gutter so water goes off the hatch and down into the gutter before running round and draining off. Additionally there is a spongy rubber seal on the inside hatch behind the lipped edge that sits on a flat rim on the inside of the gutter so forming a seal. So if the gutter is overwhelmed, which it frequently is, water is prevented from entering. I am not recommending this way, but thats how its done on mine and it does work even when the deck is awash with Sea Water.

 

[BlueLancer]

Thanks for the info. Is the gutter made of metal , ie some form estruded channel, male and female ?

 

[Ripster]

I am fairly sure they are part of the original deck moulding. So are made from GRP. The hatch is also made from GRP. The inner wall of the channel is very strong and supports the hatch weight. I am down at the boat at the WE and will take some photos. Not sure how much use this is going to be to you if you are cutting holes in an existing deck and starting from there. I assume you are trying to achieve a completely flush fit so as to use like a normal flat deck with weight bearing the same as the rest.

 

[BlueLancer]

I assume you are trying to achieve a completely flush fit so as to use like a normal flat deck with weight bearing the same as the rest.
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I am creating a new deck all together. Boat was originally from Royal Navy., it had three cabin like covers one each fore and aft. Engine bay had a similar cover with a walk way between the engines, providing access to each cabin. Now planning to have cabins fore and aft and an open deck well. Deck well will be over the engine bays, hence the request for the best way to make flush decks with engine access. I intend to create cross member framing around the engines but cannot decide how to make the flush covers fit.

 

[tinkicker0]

Can you not manufacture some guttering, even small section shed type guttering (majority of breadth hidden under deck) with drain hose either outside via skin fitting as Ripster suggested or into the bilges?

Make up your hatch with a rectangular, male barrier around the outside edge that would physically dip into the female volume of the gutter, much like a labyrinth seal. The water would then be directed off this into the gutter. The water would have to defy gravity to get past the barrier.

The barrier would add strength to the hatch and also physically locate it, if it were slightly smaller than the aperture.