Warped cockpit locker lid

[Adam Turner]

Hi all,

Attaching a pic of my cockpit locker lid (2010 32 Cruiser), which is warped.

It's been like this since I bought the boat and the locker lid is watertight.

Seen several same-model boats in my marina without this problem.

I can live with it, but for resale it would be nice to fix it.

I wonder if anyone knows whether there's a way to unwarp it? Preferably without ruining the teak.

Thanks in advance.

Adam

[Yngmar]

Looks like it's cracked where the latch is? Did you take the lid off, check if there's a matching crack on the back?

If so, you can fix it by bending it back in shape and then laminating two battens to the inside while it's held in shape. And then fixing the flange it rests on so it is supported properly, which is probably why it cracked/bent to begin with.

Fair bit of work though.

[Adam Turner]

Hi,

Thanks, the crack is in the gelcoat and extends about 15 mm above the latch, inside and out. I think it's a result of the warping.

No crack or anything similar on the main horizontal surface, inside or out. So it doesn't look like the warping has been caused mechanically.

Perhaps heat (the boat's always been in the Med) or a manufacturing fault.

Maybe there are fiberglass experts on here...Somewhere....?

Adam

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Differential Shrinkage.......??
 Could the Mediterranean heat have dried out and shrunk the teak to such an extent that it's caused the GRP beneath to warp, (similar to a bimetallic strip)..??
Resulting in a stress fracture at the latch..??
   

[tiger79]

Differential Shrinkage.......??
 Could the Mediterranean heat have dried out and shrunk the teak to such an extent that it's caused the GRP beneath to warp, (similar to a bimetallic strip)..??
Resulting in a stress fracture at the latch..??
   

Surely teak would shrink side to side (perpendicular to the grain) rather than lengthways?

[JEN-et-ROSS]

""Surely teak would shrink side to side (perpendicular to the grain) rather than lengthways?""

Dunno... But I really can't see any reason why it couldn't shrink lengthwise...
.........Bill..

[IslandAlchemy]

I've never seen anything like this before. Very strange.

[SYJetzt]

It looks as if the stop buffers under the lid are set much too high. If the lid is loaded, tensions build up on the vertical part and the result is the crack mentioned. The lid should rest on the bead in the hull  below along its entire length. Repairing it is complex because the vertical parts of the lid in the area of the crack have to be reinforced with laminate. To do this, the old laminate has to be sanded down from the inside and reduced in thickness. Enough laminate has to be built up to reach the original thickness again. Due to the high loads, I would recommend carbon rovings.