Ski locker question

[merlin310]

I recently purchased an '09 Challenger 180 and my old is kicking in high gear. Has anybody used any product to seal the center ski locker to make cleanup easier? Thanks

 

[JPass]

What do you mean seal it up? There should be a gasket under the hatch. Our locker gets a bit dirty, but nothing a quick wipe with a cloth and some simple green can't fix. There's also a drain in the corner of the lip that the hatch seals against. That drain simply dumps into the locker, then ultimately into the engine compartment bilge.

Is there something different going on with your set-up?

 

[merlin310]

It got water in it to an unfortunate wave. I was wondering if it could be coated to make a smooth surface and cleanup easier

 

[JPass]

You could always apply gelcoat or epoxy resin to smooth it all out, but that's not cheap and definitely time consuming. Not sure if you'd be able to build up bilge paint like BilgeKote or TotalBilge enough to smooth everything out?

I would venture to guess you wouldn't need more than a gallon of epoxy resin to coat the compartment, but you'd definitely have to do some prep work to ensure good adhesion. If you were to go with resin, make sure it's epoxy and not the cheaper polyester. Epoxy will stick to anything, where the polyester will not stick to epoxy. I'm not sure what was used to make the compartment, but the safest bet would be to go with the epoxy resin for this very reason, plus epoxy is more abrasion & water resistant.

Good read on resins:

https://www.boats.com/how-to/resins-resins-everywhere-one-use/

 

[merlin310]

Thanks a bunch. Will certainly take a look at the link. Great information.

 

[Premix]

Clorox Spray bleach product works great on the bilge. I avoid getting it on any metals, though.