Hi everyone

I bought my first Parker last summer - moving up from a Hawk 20. One day I was rummaging around in the depths of the cockpit locker to clean things up after a knock-down (a long story ...) and discovered the two foam blocks beyond the sill of the locker shelf.

These had become partially detached, and were slightly muddy and smelly, so I need to replace them. Rather than replacing like-for-like, I'm keen to fit something more substantial and also to close the small gap through to the aft berth, to keep smells from fenders and warps out of the cabin.

Has anyone else done this or can anyone suggest how I could achieve this?

Thanks in advance,

Doug O'Malley
P235/55 Northern Sky

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ave you thought of "handyfoam" or similar expanding foam, it's used a lot as a structural filler in construction?
Philip

Welcome to the forum. Does your cockpit locker, like mine, extend right aft into a large void to port of the engine well? Does your fuel tank have separate stowage beside the engine or is it in the cockpit locker? If the former, does it leave much access to the void below?

I find that a little water tends to accumulate down in the void and the only access is to crawl into the locker and sponge it out (or send someone smaller in there!). I too found the polystyrene blocks, which trapped water and muck underneath, and so removed them. If my boat ever floods to that extent, I don’t think the little buoyancy they represent would make much difference. I haven’t replaced them with anything but I suppose an inflatable buoyancy bag lashed in place could largely fill the space and would be the easiest thing to get in and out of the locker.

I intended to fill in the gap abaft the well but, since that space is so poorly ventilated, I decided against it. With the locker lid open, it provides an opportunity for at least a little through-flow of air.

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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Philip - Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I'd wondered about using expanding foam ... I did see one post about the danger of the foam expanding too much and stressing the boat, but I think that was referring to the forward buoyancy tank.

Doug

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Anthony - thanks for your reply.

My cockpit locker seems to be the same as yours with the large void to port of the engine well that narrows behind the recess for the fuel tank. I had to wriggle in there last year to clean out the remains of the mud that had washed in ... getting in wasn't too difficult, but being able to sponge/wash/spray the area was a struggle and getting out of the locker afterwards was a bit of a challenge too!

I like the idea of using buoyancy bags - I could probably strap the bag in place using a couple of saddles screwed to the inside of the void?

Regarding sealing up the gap abaft the well, Northern Sky has a small window over the aft berth that opens into the cockpit, and so it may be better ventilated than Sea Wyche. So I'm less concerned about the ventilation there, and still keen to see how I could seal the gap.

Regards

Doug

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Hello Doug,

For lashing a buoyancy bag in place, one option would be to screw the saddles to wooden battens that are glued to the hull, thereby avoiding the need to drill holes in the boat. Polyurethane mastic would do it.

My boat also has the opening port over the aft berth. It's the void abaft the cockpit locker that is poorly ventilated. To seal the gap, though, you could simply stick a piece of (suitably sealed) plywood into it, again with PU mastic. Foam would be easier still but you have to be careful not to use too much and it can be very messy. The main thing, though, is that you'd only need a tiny amount and the cans are quite expensive and don't keep long after use!

My boat doesn't have the "recess for the fuel tank", so access to the void is presumably better than on boats that do - and it's difficult enough! I would like to have the fuel tank in that position and I wonder whether there is a suitable water-tight hatch available to fit in the base of it (i.e. under the fuel tank), for direct access to the void beneath.

Anthony Russell
235/02 Sea Wyche

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My "bilge" pump inlet seems to be in the void but with a pipe long enough to reach into the cabin. However I did wonder, if conditions were so bad that I needed to pump out the cabin, whether I would want either the cockpit locker or the companion way open. Maybe the gap from void to cabin serves a purpose ? Can/should the pump inlet pipe be able to pass through it ?

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Hi Anthony & Mike - thanks for your feedback.

Regarding the pump, you could probably push the pipe through the gap behind the engine well and into the aft cabin, and so be able to pump with everything closed. I think it would be quite difficult to do whilst under way, so perhaps you'd need to leave it there and possibly add an extension so that it would still reach all the way forward. Don't know how this would affect its performance?

Regarding the buoyancy bags, I found that the Crewsaver 27 litre ones are similar length to the void, so I've bought a couple and will try them next time I go out to the boat. I'm hoping that they'll be a fairly snug fit once they're blown up, and then I'll see if they need fastening. If they do, I'll go with Anthony's suggestion of glueing blocks in place and fitting saddles to the blocks.

I'll keep you posted ...

Doug O'Malley
P235/55 Northern Sky

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Hi Anthony & Mike,

The Crewsaver buoyancy bags seem to stay in place once inflated in the void (there's plenty of gear in the locker to prevent them coming out even if they tried).

If you're thinking of doing the same thing, bags with non-return valves would be much easier to inflate once they're in place. Most inflatable things have non-return valves, but the Crewsaver ones don't!

Anyway, they're in place, and I don't intend to go back into the void until winter.

Doug O'Malley
P235/55 Northern Sky

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