Keeping/minimizing water in storage area

I have a 14' aluminum boat with carpeted deck and in the middle of that deck is a storage hatch. I live on a lake so it's outside at the dock most of the year I don't have a cover. The cover is just a board set to cover it and it catches on a lip and is flush to the deck. I bought flambeau zerust boxes to help fight rusting my tackle however when I open the hatch I find water in there and on my tackle boxes. What can I do to minimize or eliminate this water. Thanks

So, what have you done so far to minimize water on your boat where you don't want it? Have you tried a boat cover or a tarp? Sounds like something that someone with a little common sense should be able to figure out...

Masonp25 said:

I have a 14' aluminum boat with carpeted deck and in the middle of that deck is a storage hatch. The cover is just a board set to cover it and it catches on a lip and is flush to the deck.

Click to expand...

I have a front deck with a similar hatch cover that just sits flush on a lip. I'm replacing it with a thermo-plastic semi-flush cover that as least will prevent water from getting in via that lip. In use, this cover does sit up 1/2" above the front deck, but I'm opting for the dry well below it instead. See hatch picture below.

Another tip or option is to somehow have a vent to the bilge that allows fresh air to circulate anytime there is a breeze. Fresh air will keep moist air from building up and damaging your possessions.

When I had fiberglass boats, which are subject to sweating and condensation forming in the bilges, I made a 'vent pipe' to replace the typical 6" or 8" inspection ports/plates that offshore boats have on the deck. See bilge vent pipe picture below. I took the extra deck plate cover and bored a hole in it to match the screw fitting used to attach PVC pipes to a bulkhead fitting. This was glued in place with 3M 5200. Onto that I placed a tube of PVC and then the 180-degree "U" fitting. But ... before the fitting was placed on, I glued in some screen material onto the top of the tube so bugs, like mud daubbers, can't make a nest in the bilge.

Whenever I left the boat I unscrewed the flush deck plate and put this one into it's place. It vents the bilge and keeps it nice and dry!

Pretty creative..Dale.

For the OP....I wonder if a weighted piece of plywood, with window type of foam insulation fit to two of its underside edges, would keep the rain out???? If the insulation sealed two edges, and you cut a taper or angle on the other two edges..... which were slightly wider than the boat seat...
I suspect most of the water would be spilled off before it reaches the opening.

Harder to explain than to do, I think.

i.e. width of seat 40 inches, depth of seat 15 inches, size of opening 14 x 24 inches

Plywood. 30 inches wide and 18 inches deep. Foam on the 18-inch sides; taper or angle on the 30-inch sides.

Hope this makes sense. richg99