boat hatches alway moist!

Why are my hatches on my aluminum bass tracker always moist or wet even with the cover on? It seems I have to always take off the cover open the lid in warm sunny weather to let them dry out. Any ideas or suggetions?

Could be condensation due to cover on the boat, your cover should breath to let out the moisture. If the temperature outside the cover is cooler or hotter, when cool air meets warm air you get condensation, when you meet that dew point in temperature.

It's condensation. As Bob46 said, it occurs when cool air meets warm air. It happens more so on aluminum boats, because aluminum can warm and cool very quickly. As the temperature drops quickly at night the aluminum cools very quickly too...at the same time, the boat cover has trapped warmer air from heating during the day. The aluminum cools much faster than the air trapped by the boat cover...creating condensation! Air movement will help minimize the effect...which is why its more noticeable in the hatches...there is no air moving. In fact, the hatches will trap the warmer air, more than the boat cover.

Aluminum draws water--Take it from a printer that printed for 40 yrs so not alot you can do about it--I also own a Tracker so i knew i would have that problem--Let me know if you find something to stop it---:)

[quote=shaner;364669]Why are my hatches on my aluminum bass tracker always moist or wet even with the cover on? It seems I have to always take off the cover open the lid in warm sunny weather to let them dry out. Any ideas or suggetions?[/quote]

My guess is the humidity in the hot air under the cover.

I agree, condensation. Especially as the air in the bilge will be cooler on hot days then the air under the boat cover heated by the sun.

So thoughts on fixes:
a. Add vent hoods to the top of your existing cover. Can be bought on line, and a canvass shop can install. Some cancass shops have them in stock. Here's one you can install your self and is self sealing, just as an example: [url]http://shop.coversuperstore.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo&productID=7455&categoryID=277[/url]
b. If you have room to do it, when you put the tarp on, leave the hatches open. More even exchange of air, and normalization of temps. This is what I do to avoid the problem under seats and storage areas on my pontoon.
c. Maybe last resort if your cover is new. But try having a cover made of Sunbrella. You might even be so lucky as to get some amount of trade in on your other cover.....negotiate...might work.
d. This is alitte complicated. Take about 8 inches of 1 inch webing. Add a female snap on one end. Add a male snap on the other end. Make enough of these to match the number of snaps across the rear of the boat. Attached these to the tarp, then snap the other end to the boat snap. The rear of the tarp now has about 6 inches more play, so install a taller, or extend you existing cover support rod to take up the slack and tighten the cover. Now store the boat with trailer tongue elevated. You get an air entry at the rear, and if the angles are right, the water that runs of the rear of the top will still clear the boat.

Just some thoughts, hope they help, suggestions only.

Condensation

Keeping boxes dry is a problem, especially in the spring and fall. Try this!

Spend the money on a good dehumidifier. I use the large model sold at Sears, I simply set it in the boat, run extension cord to humidifier and plug it up. You can put it on a timer, just be sure to open the cover once a week and empty reservoir. You can easily get a gallon every two days in this kind of weather. Or if you dont fish very often, see below.

Used to detail boats at AB Boats in Somerset. Learned this trick after we wash the carpet, and detail the boats. Customers have a dry boat the very next day, rain or shine.

In the fall/winter, we place a dehumidifier in condensation prone boats, and shrink wrap or cover them with the cord sticking out the side. Attach a garden hose to the fitting on the reservoir on dehumidifier, and run it into bilge area. Plug um up once or twice a week and no problems all winter long.

Sounds like a hassle, but having dry boxes dry, and all your tackle dry is worth much more.

Hope this helps.

Don

[QUOTE=shaner;364669]Why are my hatches on my aluminum bass tracker always moist or wet even with the cover on? It seems I have to always take off the cover open the lid in warm sunny weather to let them dry out. Any ideas or suggetions?[/QUOTE]

Because the HATCHES on trackers ****...........

I have a 2006 tracker and the rod lockers, and front hatch always have water in them after a HARD rain.

Well.......I finally think I fixed some of the water issues, by doing some of my own upgrades..................For the Main hatch, just in front of the waterproof box, I put 1 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick foam weatherstripping along the edge, where the roof seats.............

I then put a TON of weight on the hatch...........like 100 lbs on each edge to squash down the stripping............THIS effectively created a GREAT waterproof seal. Much better than the carpet seal that is factory.

Once thing..........when in a SERIOUS rain, the middle well, the one I weatherstripped........It leaks water when you open it, because the hinge is not waterproof.........I'm trying to figure that one out.........when I do, will post a solution.

The rod Lockers can be done the SAME way...........

The back storage wells..........I don't care about, because the two boxes on the sides are already water tight boxes, and the live well and battery well don't need to be waterproof.

I tested my upgrades this past weekend on KY Lake.........rained all morning, and all night, and I had very little moisture in the boxes........

Let me know how it goes.

Later,

Geo

[QUOTE=shaner;364669]Why are my hatches on my aluminum bass tracker always moist or wet even with the cover on? It seems I have to always take off the cover open the lid in warm sunny weather to let them dry out. Any ideas or suggetions?[/QUOTE]


Does your cover have vents in it? If it doesn't, you should put some in or get another copver with vents. Excess condensation will also promote mold growth on seats and carpet.

DJ

Geo,
Most hatches have a recessed lip. Use that lip, cut a small drill hole, and then add a small tube to capture the water that gets passed the seal, and route the water to the bilge. If ya can't stop the leak (hard thing to do), divert it!