Effective Maintenance Tips For Watertight Doors On Boats

Posted on: 30 March 2021

On larger boats, there are usually watertight doors incorporated throughout their design. They are supposed to keep water out of different compartments during the occurrence of flooding. If you own a ship with them, then these maintenance tips can help you keep them structurally sound and ready for these hazardous situations. 

Hire Professional Contractors for Initial Setup

Watertight doors are some of the most important components on your boat and as such, you need to make sure they're set up correctly from the beginning. Then you'll have an easier time using and maintaining them over the years. 

You'll get an optimal setup if you find professional contractors that are well versed in watertight doors for boats. They can get these structures in place and ensure surrounding hardware is set up correctly too.

Make Sure Inspections are Routine

Even if you never end up having to use watertight doors on your boat, you still need to verify that they're in great condition. Then if there is a flooding scenario, you can close these doors and have confidence about no water getting through. Watertight door inspections should be routine so that you and other crew members are not put in danger.

Every couple of weeks should be a schedule you can trust. You'll have no problems identifying problems the moment they happen, whether it's a penetration issue or a problem with the handle mechanism preventing you from opening and closing smoothly. 

Verify Watertight Design via Testing 

You may know for certain there are watertight doors on your boat, but just to be safe, you want to put these doors to the test well before there is a flooding event that could be life-threatening. You can find out just how effective these doors are at sealing out water by actually exposing them to water.

You'll need to get enough water to simulate a flooding event and make sure water hits all sections of the doors. Then you can see for yourself how effective these doors are. If you notice areas where water is getting through, at least you can do something about them before an actual flooding event happens.

If you're going to be adding watertight doors to your boat or your boat already has them, make sure everyone involved in your boat's operations knows proper maintenance protocol for them. Then you won't have to worry about a bunch of structural issues causing expensive and potentially life-threatening issues.  

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