Securing cabin locker covers

[N.A.]

In the spirit of "the time to take measures to assure the safety of the vessel is before leaving port", I have been planning to better secure the covers to the lockers under the seats and V-berth in the cabin. I actually saw that @Kalia had done this in a nice way, if he sees this thread, but post since any advice will probably be useful to others as well.

Any suggestions/opinions on how to do this in the simplest way would be appreciated. For instance,
- Can one just drill some holes, and add the fittings? Or (like on a cored deck) is it important to do that complex resin/fiberglass sealing of the hole, etc?
- How big a backing washer do you use (largest, just to spread load, or is it worth making a fitting of some sort to extend beyond size of a big washer)?
- Is there some other way people like?

Some of my larger under-seat lockers have those sliding door-latches on them, but they are a bit of a pain, and their backing -- just screws -- does not seem that robust given that the use case for this is a rollover with everything in the locker thrown up against the top cover. I was thinking of replacing those too with whatever the new system is for the others.

Many thanks!

PS: image of possibility attached.

 

[Pete the Cat]

Not sure of the problem we are trying to solve here. I have never had a problem with those covers coming adrift unless I negelected to put them back.

 

[Loren Beach]

Perhaps, and just guessing, this relates to the desire to keep 'stuff' in place if/when the boat takes a full knock down. That's the reason that a surveyor I know will note whether or not a gimbaled galley range has a Keeper on each side of the gimbal scheme in case the boat goes to or beyond 90 degrees.
I also recall an article about blue water preparedness that suggested taking pictures of your interior, and then inverting them (easy nowadays with the help of computer image file displays that instantly rotate a picture 90 or 180 degrees. Study the image and note which items, including scary things like 80# batteries, will fall or be tossed out their usual position. It's often an eye-opening exercise.
Or, I have misunderstood the question...... again....

 

[N.A.]

I believe it is generally accepted practice when planning to go offshore to secure those in case of knockdown/rollover, just as one does with batteries.

Apparently one of the (many) unhappy things that happens during such an event is that everything in the lockers dumps out, possibly hitting you but certainly adding to the chaos and making a huge mess just when you may need to be able to get around, and find things, in a hurry. Especially given the simplicity of preventing it, seems no reason not to do it. Same reasoning behind using snap-clips to secure cockpit lockers, so they cannot come open accidentally and let water in if the boat is knocked on its side.

Naturally, I am not intending to get knocked down. But I do plan to go offshore, and preparation like this seems prudent to me.

PS: I watched a big (racing) boat get knocked down (as in, 90 degrees; fully on its side, with water halfway up the boat all in the cockpit etc.) on SF Bay a few years ago; they must have put 8's in their spinnaker sheets, since they did not release, and so... the spinnaker refilled as the boat righted and pulled it down again... and again... at least three times while I was watching. I thought they were going to sink for sure, but in the end they just nearly did. Don't know; maybe someone finally found their knife and cut the lines.
Lessons I took away:
1) Follow the training to never figure-eight your spinnaker sheets
2) Keep your knife handy
3) Even if you're not offshore, maybe securing these covers, and cockpit lockers with clips, isn't a bad idea.

 

[Pete the Cat]

You need to do what you think is safe, but I would not say that securing all your lockers (how about all the stuff in your chart table? or lock on your icebox top?) is standard procedure among most cruisers or racers I have known. I think you would be hard pressed to find many cruisers or racers who go that far. My picture was on an SF Bay 1981 Calendar as crew on a completely broached racing boat under the Golden Gate (due to an hourglassed chute--which I had a hand in screwing up) so i have some familiarity with the situation--we had lots of problems and none of them were below deck. For sure, it is a USCG requirement to secure the batteries for such an event and most competent surveyors will check that for compliance. I have delivered many boats and sailed my own thousands of offshore miles and never seen it done nor done it myself. I can say that when you are anticipating rough weather even day sailing it is important to secure loose things below and always store heavy tools in cabinets so that they would not become lethal in a catastrophic capsize or, more likely, broach event--my heavy tools and boat parts in in under sink cabinets for this reason. I just don't see the practicality of trying to latch everything down==though some boats I have delivered had latches on their floorboards. In the olden days of a several decades ago, I think we had to do more anticipation and precautions for unanticipated bad weather, but with the timely satellite weather information we have today a lot of the old cruising book recommendations can be obsolete. More attention for offshore prep needs to be about using technology to avoid situations rather than to just survive them. Most of us are not committing to months in the Southern Oceans. Just a perspective.

 

[Christian Williams]

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Loren Beach]

I can say that when you are anticipating rough weather even day sailing it is important to secure loose things below and always store heavy tools in cabinets so that they would not become lethal in a catastrophic capsize or, more likely, broach event--my heavy tools and boat parts in in under sink cabinets for this reason.

On the comment about keeping heavy stores from wandering out of their places, I recall the rough trip that I crewed on a 36 footer down to SF, and we were in gale conditions for 36 hours, running in 39 kts of wind, seas at 19 feet. Best place to sit was on the sole or with feet braced across the cabin when off watch. There was a sneaky cross sea, too; one good sized whack saw a camera travel across from a shelf on one side to a shelf on the other side - horizontal flight path. I recall spending some time sitting on the sole with feet braced against a locker door that had overcome its latches (canned goods or tools inside, I forget which, enough time has passed.).

All in all, 36 hours of occasionally pondering my unimportant place in the universe. (!)

IMHO, it isn't just the degree of heel, abut also the kinetic force of the hull being thrown down hard on it's side that loosens up things inside, and lets them "go walkabout"...
And don't forget to put a seat belt on the head seat!

 

[goldenstate]

My cushions do a good job of keeping my locker-tops in their nested positions.
I think my seat cushions are OEM and they fit rather snugly. This prevents the locker tops from sliding around.

If my boat gets knocked down, it's going to be a mess, regardless.
I never broached or anything similar on the way to Hawaii, but I was sailing conservatively,

.02,

 

[Kenneth K]

PS: image of possibility attached.

On some of the larger locker lids you might need several of those latches per cover. Might be easier to install a hinge one side of the cover then a single barrel-bolt type (or, the type you show) latch on the non-hinged side. Hinges often increase the functionality of hatch lids anyhow.