Galley Lid

[KCStudly]

Javanino,
What you are suggesting is very similar to what I have planned, except between the raised inner lip and the rabbeted outer step, I intend to route a dado into the top edge of the wall for the seal to recess down into. The seal trough will run right off to the bottom edge of the floor and the back/lower edge of the hatch will close down and seal against the rear edge of the floor. Any water that gets past the side seal runs down the trough and out the bottom.

See if this works (disregard the dots, just look at the brakcets and underscores). Inside galley is to the left, outside curb side is to the right. Seal goes down in the little trough. I'll try to get an image from my computer model tomorrow.

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[Javanino]

Javanino,
What you are suggesting is very similar to what I have planned, except between the raised inner lip and the rabbeted outer step, I intend to route a dado into the top edge of the wall for the seal to recess down into. The seal trough will run right off to the bottom edge of the floor and the back/lower edge of the hatch will close down and seal against the rear edge of the floor. Any water that gets past the side seal runs down the trough and out the bottom.

See if this works (disregard the dots, just look at the brakcets and underscores). Inside galley is to the left, outside curb side is to the right. Seal goes down in the little trough. I'll try to get an image from my computer model tomorrow.

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Yes, yes. Great idea. I look forward to seeing the CAD model. As long as the trough doesn't hold water and doesn't eventually leak down to the plys, it should work. My only question is do you think the trough is necessary? As long as the water just runs to the outside and not inside, wouldn't that be just as good?

[Larry C]

Then again, not exactly. The first cut alone is what I'm talking about. Cut the corner and place the weatherstrip there and don't do the second cut. It would act to do 2 things. Keep water from running into the galley and give the lid something more rigid to sit on when it's locked down.

Again, I'm just thinking out loud here guys. I'm a newb to all this teardropping but part of the fun is trying different ideas. It's the more experienced guys job to say "Hey, we tried that and it didn't work. Here's why".

The only thing I see wrong with your idea is the part left will prevent the gasket from being compressed completely. Look at the gasket, it has 3 bumps sticking up that act as a triple labyrinth to help prevent the water from getting past each one. Also, you would need a very thick and narrow gasket which may be difficult to find.

[Fishingtomatoseed]

Javanino,
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I have been reading up on the hatch seals to find away to do it. From what I have read in older post is that the above way "could" hold water. If you took the outer edge off to make a ledge so that water could run away and not run inside. Maybe epoxy the whole thing and put the seal on the hatch it self. Here is one of the older post that is talking about it. If you search for Galley lid there is hours of reading.....

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22682&p=318358&hilit=galley+seal#p318358

[aggie79]

Another issue with the step is what will the high side rest against. Most likely that will be the bottom side of the hatch projection. The bumping and vibration will cause wear on the sidewall step and the hatch.

My sidewalls are approximately 1-1/4" thick. (They're insulated.) I used two parallel runs of Grant's hatch seals on the underside of hatch overhang. There is a gap between the seals. My thought was that if water ever got past the outer seal, it would run down the gap between the two seals. As it turned out, the inner seal isn't needed. My hatch doesn't leak even when I pressure wash my teardrop at the neighborhood coin-operated car wash.

[Javanino]

Another issue with the step is what will the high side rest against. Most likely that will be the bottom side of the hatch projection. The bumping and vibration will cause wear on the sidewall step and the hatch.

My sidewalls are approximately 1-1/4" thick. (They're insulated.) I used two parallel runs of Grant's hatch seals on the underside of hatch overhang. There is a gap between the seals. My thought was that if water ever got past the outer seal, it would run down the gap between the two seals. As it turned out, the inner seal isn't needed. My hatch doesn't leak even when I pressure wash my teardrop at the neighborhood coin-operated car wash.

Good point. My thinking is a very thin seal on the top side and obviously a thicker one on the low side where they both have equal pressure. The main reason I lean to this idea is because of where the roof meets the galley. Too me the hurricane hinge hangover idea ruins the flow and aesthetics of an otherwise really cool design. If it's cut flush and the sidewalls have a notch cut into, it would remedy this. Maybe

[aggie79]

Too me the hurricane hinge hangover idea ruins the flow and aesthetics of an otherwise really cool design. If it's cut flush and the sidewalls have a notch cut into, it would remedy this. Maybe

I generally agree, but using the 10-foot rule, you don't notice the overhang.



What looks like the shadow of the hinge overhang in the picture above is actually a rain diverter made out of 3/4" angle aluminum. (My hurricane hatch extends 3/4" out on each side.)



BTW, referring to the prior post, you can see the double seals that I applied on the underside of my hatch.

[Javanino]

Too me the hurricane hinge hangover idea ruins the flow and aesthetics of an otherwise really cool design. If it's cut flush and the sidewalls have a notch cut into, it would remedy this. Maybe

I generally agree, but using the 10-foot rule, you don't notice the overhang.

What looks like the shadow of the hinge overhang in the picture above is actually a rain diverter made out of 3/4" angle aluminum. (My hurricane hatch extends 3/4" out on each side.)

BTW, referring to the prior post, you can see the double seals that I applied on the underside of my hatch.

That's a beautiful TD you got there. Very impressed. Next time I'm up in the metroplex, would love to check it out.

[KCStudly]

Well, maybe I am over thinking it, but my main goal was to avoid having the big thick outer hatch rib cut away in the overall profile. I want to keep the side profile of my hatch consistent with the roof thickness, and yet still have a deeper rib (3 inch) inside of the side wall and exposed underneath the hatch ceiling skin.

Remember, I am building a canvas wrapped Foamie.

To clarify, my hatch construction will be exposed ribs topped with thin ply skin, topped with 1-1/2 thk foam, canvas and glue wrapped around foam and outer edges of ply up to the first rib.

This is looking forward thru the side wall with the foam not shown.
(click to enlarge)

So the top skin is actually the 'ceiling' skin of my hatch and there will be 1-1/2 inches of foam and canvas rapped over that, with the canvas wrapping the outer edge.

I did not want a big unsightly gap along the separation between the top of the wall and the hatch, and everything I have read says that you only want to compress your seal by about half it's original height. So do you guys with flat top galley sides show a 1/4 inch gap on the outside looking at the side of the weather seal? Or is that covered by trim? I won't have any trim. I am putting a radius on the corner of the foam and will have the canvas wrap, so I have no way to cover this gap.

My thought was to epoxy the whole top of the wall to seal it, and then wrap the canvas on the wall up into the seal groove at least down the outer side of the groove to the bottom, and that the little strip applied to the under side of the outer hatch lip would tend to squeeze the seal into the provided void space. There is 1/16 allowance for the gap line on the outside profile. Maybe harder to achieve than I am thinking, but it is looking good for me with the CNC cabinet maker to do my profiles, so I am thinking they will be pretty accurate.

My dimensions (not shown) are based on McMaster-Carr #1142A72 EPDM hollow 'D'-shaped seal, $1.03/ft in 10, 20 & 50 ft options.

How much is Grant's seal? It does look nice, and I could be convinced to change my mind (and plan). Got any close up pics of your side seams with the hatches closed?

[grant whipp]

KC!

My Door Seal ("D" profile) is $.80/ft and my Hatch Seal (ribbed, fat "D" profile shown elsewhere in this thread) is $1.10/ft, cut to your needs. They also compress down to almost nothing (1/16" or so), so the minimal gap you have planned should be fine. Give me a holler at [email protected] if you need more info ... ...!

CHEERS!

[KCStudly]

Thanks Grant. Your seal does look better, and after bouncing this around in my head here I'm thinking that I will have to free up some of my dimensions to allow for the thickness of the canvas and glue, so the best thing for me to do is to probably make up a small test profile. When I get to that stage I will contact you for a short length. Thanks.

So if I leave out the rabbet and seal groove, and just wrap the wall canvas onto and across the top of the wall perhaps stapling into the inner top edge of the wall (the rear portions of the walls will be capped with reinforcing wood rails in the galley area), or perhaps wrap all the way into the inside and seal the edge of the canvas down with the thin inner plywood skin, would the seal attaching surface have to be especially smooth? Is it adhesively backed, if not, what method do you recommend for attaching it (I must have seen this before, but do not recall at the moment)? The canvas can be painted out to as smooth a surface as needed, but it has been my intent to leave the main panels with some texture, so it would be nice not to have to do a bunch of coats and sanding to get it smooth enough for an adhesive backing to adhere to.

Do you do anything to close the open end of the seal profile where it is cut?

[SteveW]

Was just about to ask a very similar question as KC, as I'm currently gathering materials now for my foam build. I keep second-guessing my ideas for sealing the hatch.

[grant whipp]

My Seals have an adhesive back on them ... don't know about adhering to textured surfaces, though, as I've never tried it ... some folks have added extra adhesive, but I can't recall what kind ... best advice I can give is to make sure the surface you will be attaching it to is CLEAN and free from oils & dirt & anything else that would interfere with a nice tight fit. I've never bothered with closing/sealing the open ends ... I have gotten anal once or twice and miter-cut the bottom corners, but I couldn't tell you whether or not it performed any better (sure looked good, though!).

CHEERS!

[Javanino]

Another option would be to keep the 3/4 width and channel seal and add a curved piece to the inside that matches the profile. Only slightly higher. That would prevent any water coming in near the top of the hatch and make it run to the back and out. Seems like I've seen something similar in one of the many photos online. If one is going with 1 1/2 inches walls in the galley, even better.

[ioan]

What kind of plywood do you guys use to make the hatch's ribs? Also, how many ribs should I make?