Leaking F15 Filippi single's
pault...@sky.com
leaking into it?
My daughter has recently noticed, that after 20 minutes of rowing a
very small amount of water appears at her feet and by the end of her
outing any clothing located behind the footplate can be quite damp and
wet.
We inspected the Hull both inside and outside, we cannot see even the
slightest scratch/hole/dent or crack.
The Bowball and empacher slot appear rock solid & damage free.
We striped out the shoes and stretcher, filled it with water. We saw
no apparent sign of any leak. ( left for around 20 minutes) perhaps we
need to leave it overnight?
Unfortunately I find it impossible to open either bow or stern hatch
cover, even one of the heavy weight scullers couldn't budge them.
The fin appears undamaged and the only thing I can see is that there
is No Tape around the bottom of the fin where it is attached to the
hull. A look around at other club singles shows me that this design is
not unusual.
anyone have similar problems and/or any thoughts on what to do next.
Cheers Paul
Carl
> Does anyone who own's a Filippi F15 single have experience of water
> leaking into it?
>
> My daughter has recently noticed, that after 20 minutes of rowing a
> very small amount of water appears at her feet and by the end of her
> outing any clothing located behind the footplate can be quite damp and
> wet.
>
> We inspected the Hull both inside and outside, we cannot see even the
> slightest scratch/hole/dent or crack.
>
> We striped out the shoes and stretcher, filled it with water. We saw
> no apparent sign of any leak. ( left for around 20 minutes) perhaps we
> need to leave it overnight?
>
> Unfortunately I find it impossible to open either bow or stern hatch
> cover, even one of the heavy weight scullers couldn't budge them.
>
> The fin appears undamaged and the only thing I can see is that there
> is No Tape around the bottom of the fin where it is attached to the
> hull. A look around at other club singles shows me that this design is
> not unusual.
>
> anyone have similar problems and/or any thoughts on what to do next.
>
>
> Cheers Paul
>
>
Second thought - I suspect that drips of water are running down the wing
rigger stay and dropping into the boat.
Third thought - splashes are entering elsewhere & running down the
slide-bed.
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
Sarah A Harbour
>
> Second thought - I suspect that drips of water are running down the wing
> rigger stay and dropping into the boat.
>
> Third thought - splashes are entering elsewhere & running down the
> slide-bed.
>
> Cheers -
> Carl
>
my single when it's windy and I've been backsplashing too much. The
splash gets onto the deck and then makes its way into the footwell. On
calm days when I'm timing the entry better and hence not splashing as
much: dry footwell.
Not a solution to the water being there, but I would suggest she gets
one of those 'canoe sacks' (waterproof bags that you roll the top over
- can buy them from outdoor shops) to put her kit in rather than leave
it to mop up the water like a sponge - it isn't pleasant putting on
wet kit when it gets colder outside in the winter!
Sarah
richard pratt
> Does anyone who own's a FilippiF15single have experience of water
I think Carl may be right. My wife's F15 requires regular tightening
of every nut and bolt so if this has not been done there is a chance
the forestay bolt may have loosened and allow water from the stay to
pass onto the deck and make its inevitable way sternwards.
However I wonder if the hatches might be an issue. If they cannot be
budged then it implies the enclosed volumes are airtight and so
changes in ambient temperature will create pressure in the stern space
and this might have resulted in a leak around the skeg. Take the skeg
out of the equation by sealing round it with easily removed silicone
sealant and it the problem stops, hey presto! If it still happens then
the silicone can be pulled off. I would they hard to get those hatch
covers off: I try to make sure both my and my wife's Filippis have the
hatches left slightly loose when storing to avoid pressure build up as
they are in a container that gets rather warm.
Also I suggest contacting your Filippi dealer: I have always found
them helpful.
All the best,
Richard
Steven M-M
way to open the vent hatches. They shouldn't be sealed tight all the
time; best if they can be open between rows.
Steven M-M
Walter Martindale
see what sort of screw-in vent hatches they have (not sure if they're
threaded or interrupted thread, but that doesn't matter).
If this vent/hatch cover is defeating the hand strength of the big
guys, use mechanical aids to open the hatches
I'd suggest getting a fairly big pair of slip joint pliers (or a
fairly big pair of ordinary pliers). Put the handles in opposite
sides of the ridge in the vent cover.
Put a BIG screwdriver between the handles, push down on the pliers to
keep them in the vent cover, and use the leverage of the screwdriver
to turn the plier handles in the direction that will open the hatch.
You must know this but you want the "top" of the hatch to move to the
left when you loosen "lefty loosie, righty tighty"?
If that doesn't work, order new hatches from Filippi, cut the covers
out, unscrew the things from the deck, and replace them. You need to
be able to open them.
If you're in the UK, maybe Carl can provide other suggestions for
getting the hatches open.
W
Walter Martindale
Oh, yeah... keep the screwdriver fairly near the hatch so you're
putting more of the force on the hatch rather than up near the joint
of the pliers where you'll be torquing the joint of the pliers... if
you try this method - if you haven't already figgered out a way to do
it..
W
Steven M-M
Would some sort of penetrating oil--in the USA, WD-40 is the most
common--help free up those covers? Not sure if you want this kind of
stuff around shells, but gotta get those covers open.
Steven M-M
Carl
> On Oct 9, 7:47 am, Walter Martindale<wmart...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Oct 9, 8:44 am, Walter Martindale<wmart...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Oct 7, 9:20 am, paultarn...@sky.com wrote:
>>
>>>> Does anyone who own's a Filippi F15 single have experience of water
>>>> leaking into it?
>>
>>>> My daughter has recently noticed, that after 20 minutes of rowing a
>>>> very small amount of water appears at her feet and by the end of her
>>>> outing any clothing located behind the footplate can be quite damp and
>>>> wet.
>>
>>>> We inspected the Hull both inside and outside, we cannot see even the
>>>> slightest scratch/hole/dent or crack.
>>
WD40 is widely available in many countries & is not great problem near a
boat, Steven. The only question is whether it will get into thread of
the hatch - if there's an O-ring seal, that'll probably keep the WD40 out.
Walter has the right idea for the hatch cover - superior leverage. And
I doubt the screwdriver's a necessary part of the kit. The pump pliers
(UK name), which are grips with the slip joint in which the pivot can be
moved to new positions when you open the grips right up, should be all
you need. Useful tool, anyway. Set the pivot position for widest grip,
hold the handles together so that position is held, engage the 2 jaw
tips one on either side of the hatch cover's central hand-grip & rotate
the grip handles anti-clockwise with modest force (don't want to rip the
thing out of the boat!). If that doesn't do it, then remove the fixing
screws, take out the hatch + surround & go to work on it on the bench.
When you get it free, apply Vaseline to the threads & the seal before
refitting the hatch cover into its surround.
A cause for the problem could be a combination of dry threads with
'stiction' of the rubber O-ring against the hatch surround being enough
to prevent unscrewing. One rather meaty operator fitting the hatches at
the factory & what goes in will not come out. Anything which has an
O-ring seal only needs gently closing to seal perfectly.
However, as I see it you probably have 2 completely separate problems.
I doubt there's water getting into the foot-well from the sealed
compartments or via bolt holes. I think it's splash over the saxboards
& drips running in off the wing rigger.
Maybe Filippi don't know the hatch can be a problem & would welcome a
heads up from the frustrated owner? We all need feedback.
Andrew Hunt
landing in the seating area and moving towards the footwell. This is
in every boat I have used (Weitnauer, Filippi, Empacher, Burgashell).
It's the way you row and not the boat. It's impossible for me to keep
anything dry in the footwell, I don't try anymore. (On a side note,
Weitnauer boats, at least the ones from ~2000, are leaky, we seem to
have traced the problem to the stern hatch not being watertight, which
is on the wall between footwell and stern compartment -- i.e. when the
footwell is filled, as can happen when waves are large enough, you can
start getting a fair amount of water in the stern compartment.) The
only time this water stopped appearing was at the height of winter
when the front half of the cockpit turned into an ice sheet.
Regarding the hatch covers: we have this problem with most Filippis,
the solution as discussed above is a set of pliers or similar device.
Tried and tested on every newer filippi my club owns.
mruscoe
> Walter has the right idea for the hatch cover - superior leverage. And I
> doubt the screwdriver's a necessary part of the kit. The pump pliers (UK
> name), which are grips with the slip joint in which the pivot can be
> moved to new positions when you open the grips right up, should be all
> you need. Useful tool, anyway.
I know people who have had to deal with a lot of these hatches have made
their own tools by making wooden levers with an appropriate shapes at
the end to fit the depressions in the hatch cover. Otherwise they are a
perpetual problem.
ATP
"mruscoe" <use...@mruscoe.org> wrote in message
news:9fepg1...@mid.individual.net...
I would try wooden handscrew clamps if you have enough clearance. Tighten
the clamps and then turn them with large pump pliers. A custom tool cut to
fit would be even better, as you suggest.
Carl
Back to one of my earlier suggestions, starting with a question:
Are these hatches fitted with O-ring seals? The rubber has a high
coefficient of friction against moulded plastics that, once the hatch
has been closed, the frictional resistance acting along a seal perimeter
of ~300mm/1ft may completely defeat the unaided efforts of normal rowers.
In this case, a film of grease would probably reduce the friction enough
to allow easy unscrewing of the lid - at least for the first few times
after which you'd need to re-apply. If there's some other sort of seal,
or none, grease may still do the job as sometimes you get the greatest
friction in contacts between similar materials.
Wrenching off hatch covers as a matter of standard practice will not be
good for any boat.
Sarah A Harbour
>
> - Show quoted text -
You need a waterproof canoe sack - as per my suggestion above...
Sarah
Phil
> cover, even one of the heavy weight scullers couldn't budge them.
> Cheers Paul
Beware - it's not unusual for the hatches to already be fully
unscrewed (ie/ fully anticlockwise) giving the impression that they
'cannot be budged'. Try lifting them out gently....
Phil.
pault...@sky.com
Cheers for all your suggestions.
I'll first of all try and contact the UK dealer, again , I have
tried for the last 2 days, No answer so far, perhaps they are on
holiday.
I will swap boats with her for a while, so I can actually see this
water for myself.
It doesn't have a wing riiger, sorry I forgot to mention it has the 3
stay metal rigger.
Interesting about the water entering from splashes. This is possible
although she is very technically very good, one of these scullers who
can do mile after mile of square blades, makes yeah sick. I can't do
anymore than about 3 squareblade strokes in a row.
I will look at some sort of pliers(with a bit of protection) to see if
I can open the hatches and I will make sure she keeps them open after
each outing.
I'll get her a watertight bag for her clothes.
as above a word with the manufacture first, is the right way to go.
I'll let you know if we find anything over the next week or so.
Many Thanks Paul
Steven M-M
This AM, I took a close look at the hatches in my 2001 Filippi 1x. The
unit is glued to the carbon bulkhead, so no unscrewing to take the
entire unit out. There are no gaskets in my older shell, so spraying
with a little WD40 might loosen things up. I wonder if the threads are
crossed; easy to do if you're not careful. I've never had a problem
with my hatches, but then again I'm the only one who uses this shell.
Steven M-M
Alison Brighton
Paul wasn't away this weekend just gone- was showing a new boat to a
prospective purchaser. (He keeps boats at our club). However, I am not
sure what the best way to contact him is I'm afraid
Gareth Gruenbaum
Compartments need hatches to avoid being easily flooded, but they do
not need to air tight or water tight.
Just a thought.
Gareth
Alison Brighton
flooding, thus entirely defeating the object and reducing the chance
of the crew being safe should the boat take on water?
Carl
> On Oct 11, 12:42 pm, Gareth Gruenbaum<itsgar...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Oct 7, 10:20 pm, paultarn...@sky.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Does anyone who own's a Filippi F15 single have experience of water
>>> leaking into it?
>>
>>> My daughter has recently noticed, that after 20 minutes of rowing a
>>> very small amount of water appears at her feet and by the end of her
>>> outing any clothing located behind the footplate can be quite damp and
>>> wet.
>>
>>> We inspected the Hull both inside and outside, we cannot see even the
>>> slightest scratch/hole/dent or crack.
>>
>>> We striped out the shoes and stretcher, filled it with water. We saw
>>> no apparent sign of any leak. ( left for around 20 minutes) perhaps we
>>> need to leave it overnight?
>>
>>> Unfortunately I find it impossible to open either bow or stern hatch
>>> cover, even one of the heavy weight scullers couldn't budge them.
>>
>>> The fin appears undamaged and the only thing I can see is that there
>>> is No Tape around the bottom of the fin where it is attached to the
>>> hull. A look around at other club singles shows me that this design is
>>> not unusual.
>>
>>> anyone have similar problems and/or any thoughts on what to do next.
>>
>>> Cheers Paul
>>
>> I wonder whether O rings are useful.
>> Compartments need hatches to avoid being easily flooded, but they do
>> not need to air tight or water tight.
>> Just a thought.
>> Gareth
>
> Surely, if they are not air or water tight, they are liable to
> flooding, thus entirely defeating the object and reducing the chance
> of the crew being safe should the boat take on water?
ignorant officials demanding perfect airtightness of hatches.
If the compartment is totally airtight, please consider what this might
mean for the boat. Suppose a shell is sitting in the sun with hatch
open. The hull surface temperature of a darkish boat might reach 75C.
Then you screw down your airtight hatch & put the boat afloat in water
which might be at 15C. Now consider the implications:
The change in internal pressure will follow Charles' Law (not from our
Charles Carroll, sadly), whereby the pressure is proportional to the
absolute temperature. Add 273 to both temperatures to get their
absolute temperature equivalents, with the hot air is at 348K &, when
the boat chills at 15C, its temperature falls to 288K.
This means a fall in internal pressure of (348-288)/348 or 17% - just
over 1/6 of an atmosphere or ~0.17 bars/2.5psi. That results in fairly
large stresses in the hull structure which the boat may not have been
designed to resist.
Anyway, how much water can possibly enter through a slightly unsealed
hatch? If the boat is somehow fully submerged, the pressure
differential at the hatch might be about 50mm of water gauge, which is
about ~0.005 bars/0.08psi. Air will pass through a tiny gap extremely
slowly under such a minute pressure differential, & for the enclosed
compartments to fill the water (a far more viscous fluid than air) will
have to flow in as the air bubbles out. As a result, a slightly leaky
hatch will cause no hazard to you or your shell & might even save it
from damage. A tiny weep through a hatch might truly sink you in a
month if you held the boat underwater that long, but will do no harm in
any typical outing
The lesson of this, as with the tendency of rowers to over-tighten
rigger bolts (& anything else, such as shoe straps, they can get their
hands on), is that if a little is good that does not mean that a whole
lot more will necessarily be better. Moderation in all things - better
a slightly leaky hatch than no hatch, & possibly it is better also than
an hermetically sealing hatch - on some boats. Just be sure to
ventilate at every hatch & bung when you rack the boat.
Charles Carroll
Just to confirm what you are saying, I seem to remember having been
told of an incident where a shell exploded. I think it was Ellen
Braithwaite who told me.
In any event, someone had forgotten to unscrew the hatch before tying
his shell to a rack on the roof of his car. I don't recall who it was,
or whether he heard the shell pop apart while driving, or if he only
discovered the shell in a disassembled state after he arrived at his
destination. But whatever happened, it must have been damned
unpleasant.
It also made a big impression. To this day if you are ever in
Sausalito and engaged in tying a shell to the rack on top of your car,
you are almost sure to be reminded to unscrew the port.
Until this evening I have always enjoyed the popping sound when I
unplug one of the triangular bungs on the beautiful Mary Elizabeth
Stone. But your post has made me wonder. Is all that "airtightness"
really so desirable?
Cordially,
Charles
Carl
Thanks for that observation on the potential hazards of unreleased
pressure differences.
It's always good to get us thinking about what we do, so I'll make one
important observation, arising from what you've just written.
The hatch cover is not without some weight & hard edges. If you fully
undo it before transporting your boat, it may flap around on the end of
its retaining cord, with multiple impacts which can do serious, usually
cosmetic, damage.
Woolygog
just either side of the cockpit), which prevent the build up of
pressure within the bow and stern sections.
The holes are approx 1mm diameter, so not enough to let in any
(serious amount of) water, but enough to let pressure differentials
easily equilibrate and are at the highest part of the decking, so
water cannot 'pool' over the top of them either.
A thought to help with the percieved (or actual) problem. But perhaps
people don't want to go drilling holes in their pride and joy...
Cheers!
Ellen Braithwaite
Maas double made for open water rowing, and we do find ourselves in
conditions where the cockpit can be full from time to time,and there
is extra flotation in the hull to keep the boat afloat. The boats have
self-bailers to drain the cockpit when conditions flatten out. So it
can be a little more important to have a tight system, but it is a
rare boat that doesn't wind up with a little water inside after an
outing.
My boat left Sausalito on a trailer. However the boat was prepared,
when it was unloaded and placed on the high-altitude and sunny warm
beach, the hatch was tightly closed and the stern plug snug. When I
arrived later that day, I found it split open along the seam where the
deck edge joins the hull. It was just a couple of inches and the
folks at Maas repaired it quite successfully.
But I didn't race it that day. I'd sent along an extra boat which my
partner rowed and one of the race organizers let me use her boat (but
she thought I should have rowed it faster).
Ellen
Charles Carroll
It is oft remarked that the devil is in the details. But it is the
details that bring the story to life.
I thought that it was you who had told me the story and that the shell
was yours and that it had happened at the Tahoe Regatta. But I couldn’t
remember whether one shell or two were involved and if they had come
apart on the highway and you had heard them, or if you found them when
you were untying them from the rack.
In any event, the story is yours and I am glad you told it.
I wonder if it is really necessary to unscrew the hatch. Why not just
loosen it and remove the drain plugs at either end? Shouldn’t that be
enough to release any excess pressure?
I also wonder how important it is to have airtight shells in our
water. If we were sculling on fresh water, I don’t see how a tiny
amount of water inside the bulkhead would make much difference.
But we scull in salt water. And I cannot imagine that having a residue
of salt inside the bulkhead would be acceptable. One of the things
Carl told me when we were discussing buying the shell was that I must
be sure to rinse if off carefully.
At the time I seem to remember Carl’s saying, “The shell was made to
be rowed in water. A little fresh water won’t matter at all. But salt
water is another thing. Salt over time can cause a lot of damage.”
I cannot imagine any good coming from building up a residue of salt
inside the bulkhead.
Hope things are going well in Boston. Someone said you are out on the
water every day and training hard.
Good luck. I’ll look forward to more stories when you get back.
Warmest regards,
Charles
donal...@gmail.com
to University College Dublin and they had lazily put a ratchet strap
on before transporting the boat. The end of the strap unravelled then
snagged in the trailer wheel mechanism neatly garrotting the
boat......
Donal
Carl
>
> On Oct 12, 1:47 pm, Woolygog<ijo...@rsk.co.uk> wrote:
>> My Sims has very small diameter holes drilled through the deck (one
>> just either side of the cockpit), which prevent the build up of
>> pressure within the bow and stern sections.
>>
>> The holes are approx 1mm diameter, so not enough to let in any
>> (serious amount of) water, but enough to let pressure differentials
>> easily equilibrate and are at the highest part of the decking, so
>> water cannot 'pool' over the top of them either.
>>
>> A thought to help with the percieved (or actual) problem. But perhaps
>> people don't want to go drilling holes in their pride and joy...
>>
>> Cheers!
>
> Not the same but another incident to be cautious of. Id sold a single
> to University College Dublin and they had lazily put a ratchet strap
> on before transporting the boat. The end of the strap unravelled then
> snagged in the trailer wheel mechanism neatly garrotting the
> boat......
>
> Donal
Nice one! But some rowers try very hard to do this without external
assistance. Again they do this becasue they fail to grasp that,
although a bit tight is good, extremely tight can be less good or plain
ruinous.
I understand that in Germany webbing straps with metal buckles are
mandatory, but I consider this unwise:
1. If the strap is not properly tightened, e.g. because a poorly
aligned loop can slide along a bar, then it can work slack.
2. Not all die-cast buckles are nearly as strong or reliable as they
may seem.
3. If a buckle has been trodden on or driven over (& both happen very
easily) it may be weakened or cracked.
4. Not all buckles hold as securely as they should, so again teh strap
can loosen
5. The overtightening problem
6. The wear that the hard webbing can induce in a paint, lacquer or
gel-coat finish
7. The lack of redundancy - if a strap goes, unless you had 2 in that
place you now have none.
For all those reasons I much prefer bungee cords, always used in pairs.
Any fool can buy a length of bungee cord and tie it into handy loops
of the right length to give good tension without causing damage. And
these will not go slack.
Steven M-M
> URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk(boats) &www.aerowing.co.uk(riggers)
Carl,
Most of the bungees I see here in the USA are far too flimsy to
securely tie down a shell. Is there some weight or standard of bungee
that you would recommend for securing a shell.
Steven M-M
Carl
Good question, Steven -
It is not so much the weight of the bungee as their condition and the
number of them used at each point. I would not particularly advocate
the types already fitted with wire hooks. Although I do also use these,
I do so with a great deal of experience behind me and a lot of care at
the time of each using.
As I indicated, you can buy bungee cord (AKA shock cord) by the reel, &
you can get it in a range of diameters. It is available in a range of
diameters from ~3mm/0.125" to 14mm/0.55" and beyond.
For a single I'd recommend a complete loop of 6 or 8mm cord (tie the
ends with a thumb knot & slide one of those moulded nylon balls which
resemble pitted olives down over that knot). Ensure that you can get a
reasonable load (a reasonable load is not more than you can comfortably
pull over the boat) after you've looped it over from one side of the
car-top rack to the other, or looped it through itself on the trailer
rack & then over the boat to the other side. But you can always take
extra turns around the accessible end of the rack to be sure. And
always use 2 at each position - belt & braces makes perfect sense when
lives & valuable equipment are at stake if a boat breaks loose.
For bigger shells, go up a size or 2 on the cord diameter. Still use
pairs of doubled cords, at every racking position. And again adjust
tension by winding the accessible end around the rack to reduce slack.
But the vital rule is: _never_ use a significantly frayed or damaged
bungee. That said, a bungee cord has hundreds of individual rubber
strands in it so, unless you're using one with a lousy end hook, it has
a lot of redundancy & the first sign of fraying gives you time to get a
replacement.
One last point: singles are often tied down on a trailer at a point
where the only contact is with the deck ridge. It is easy to make a
simple V-block from wood, a bit wider than the boat at that point, & to
pad it with carpet. Then the tie-down load goes only on the deck edges
(sheer-line), not the centre or unsupported parts of the deck. It's
worth a few minutes of thought to preserve the health of a few thousands
worth of boat.
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Anthony
(1mm) hole in the hatch cover, rather than in your pristine shell?
Anthony
donal...@gmail.com
factor complete with hooks for self assembly. They tend to use it for
tying curtain sided wagons together. I prefer to simply cut to length
form an open loop in one end and knot as necessary at the other and
yes to double up.
Donal
donal...@gmail.com
ben
what someone else has said.
Regarding wate rin the footwell, this is most likely due to
backsplash. Even a small amount of backsplash can land in the
'cockpit' behind the sculler and will eventually run down into the
footwell. I don't know if the lip on the 'splash-vee' on Filippis
catches more water but my F22 gathers quite a bit on an outing.
Filippi hatches tend to get stuck and need to be greased with
something like Castrol LM to stop them sticking. Also make sure you
don't do them up fully. They will still be watertight/airtight when
95% tightened.
I've had to free several stuck Filippi hatches and the best technique
is to get a U-bolt, such as those used to hold a sculling boat rack to
a car roof rack. The ends of the U-bolt should fit either side of the
central ridge on the hatch cover. Pass a length of aluminium section,
or similar, or even the sculling rack through the U-bolt to make a
long lever and use this to twist the hatch open (pressing down on the
u-bolt to keep it in place against the hatch).
I hope that makes sense. Let me know if you need a better explanation.
david.h...@aea.be
have an inexhaustible supply of the things). Now someone I'm sure is
going to tell me why this is the worst possible option.
Yesterday I had a very rare outing in a single ... Filippi. Shortly
into the outing I took on a fair bit of water from a passing cruiser,
On my return I made an absolute pig's ear of getting the boat up onto
my head and carrying it up the ramp. Getting it onto slings I was
aware of water sloshing about in the stern compartment. After
removing - with some difficulty - the hatch cover I emptied out maybe
four litres of water - more, I would say, than I had shipped,
Couldn't see any problems around the skeg.
I shall just have to take it out again, stay dry this time and see
what happens.
Dave H
Royal S.N. de Bruxelles
Rebecca Caroe
around the lip several times... I always leave mine open after each
outing.
Getting them open: Paul Willis the UK agent has a 'tool' he made
which is a big handle embedded in plaster of paris which exactly fits
(cos he moulded it off) a Filippi hatch cover - ask to borrow it.
You'll only use it once!
Another issue is because of the good seal I find a pressure gradient
emerges between the air inside the canvas and outside - this is mainly
in spring / autumn and so air pressure is another reason why they are
hard to open... a hot bradall to make a hole through the plastic
cover equalises the pressure.