Locker Latches

[Eric]

I have a 380 which taking down the rivers from Minnesota to the sea this fall, as we start the great circle.I am thinking through seaworthiness issues and the one I want to ask you all about has to do with the lids to our lockers in the cockpit and the two on the tail. I am concerned about what happens WHEN I will get caught at sea in bad weather and I get pooped and the possibility of serious water coming in through these lockers.The two on the tail have the rubberized, springloaded type of latches to which I am going to add lockable brass latches. These two lockers open to large lockers in the tail which are separated from the INTERIOR of the boat by only a light wooden partition wall. I assume they drain nowhere else but into the bilge. If there was enough water, I am concerned that it would go to the bilge via the stateroom.In our round cockpit, there are also three lockers: one appears to be contained but has no drain, the two at the aft end of the cockpit are not contained and would empty quickly into the two large lockers off the aft end of the boat. If you open the port side aft locker in the cockpit and the port side aft locker on the tail, two people could reach in each one and shake hands in the middle, over the fuel tank, the head tank and a "bunsh of stuff".So if a wave comes over the rear of the boat, there is nothing to keep the locker lids from opening up and becoming gigantic funnels emptying into the interior of the boat.I plan on adding locking latches and good seals. Anyone have comments, ideas?

 

[ED]

some ideas

The previous owner on my boat put pad lock hasps on all the cocpit lockers. Everytime you want to open one you have to lift the latch. its on top and falls to close over the eye. This is a pain. My last boat had a line hooked to the inside of each hatch. the line led forward to cleat inside the companionway. Pull the ropes tight and the lids were closed and secure. let the rope go and open the hatch. Worked great. on off shore passages you lock them down. when you leave the boat you lock them down. no hardware to polish and catch your legs on.

 

[Jerry]

Eric,The following are the latches I used to secure stern and cockpit lockers. I replaced the single rubber draw latch on each of my stern lockers with 2 of the 1406A72 Turn-To-Open Draw Latches (4 total) I used 2 of the 1070A81 rubber draw latches on the each of the 3 cockpit lockers (6 total) on my H310. I also used foam rubber weather stripping on the bottom of the locker lids aligned so as to further help seal the lockers against water intrusion. McMaster-Carr part number 1070A81Rubber draw-latch (mfrd. by Southco)1-63/64" reach and 4-5/32" length$10.93, each.McMaster-Carr part number 1406A72Turn-To-Open Draw Latch Stainless Stl, Nonlocking, 1-7/8" Latch Distance$15.15 Each

 

[Burleigh]

Security

Eric,I have a Hunter 376 which I keep in Spain. When I purchased the yacht 3 years ago she had only the rubber latches as your 380. I decided to add extra latches to both the low level lockers on the swim platform and the three in the cockpit (two at the aft end and one on the port side). All the latches have provision for a lock. The latches work well and I do not have problems with them catching ropes or legs.I now feel happier and much safer. I have since had two experiences of being pooped and on both occassions all the lockers behaved perfectly.They also give more security when locked and no one is on board.Burleigh