Dagger White Water Handle
[Z-CNF-9800028 (6U1)]

Bought the Sea-Lect “recreational” cover for my circa-2005 Valley Avocet kayak, which has two VCP-oval sized hatches. Works great – super easy to install yet stays on securely. Plus it has a built-in lanyard attachment so you can hook it to your deck-line so it won’t get lost. Went for two test paddles and got the hatches wet, even flipped the boat and sat on hull to submerge the hatches – fully watertight seal.

Sea-Lect “recreational” vs “performance”: The entire rubber portion of the “recreational” cover is identical to Sea-Lect’s slightly more expensive “performance” cover (which I also bought), except that the “recreational” lacks the extra hard-plastic top surface added to the “performance” version. YES, the rubber portions are identical, including the thickness of the rubber and the size/shape of the gasket where the cover secures around the rim. So the only difference is that the hard-plastic added to the top of the “performance” version curves downward at the sides, which gives the cover some downward “spring”, and therefore the “performance” version grips the left/right (port/starboard) sides of the hatch rim with ever-so-slightly more pressure. So it takes a little more effort to pull the sides of the “performance” cover off. The “performance” also snaps on a little more quickly by pressing down in the middle of the hard-plastic top. At the front/rear (bow/stern) of the covers, the “recreational” and “performance” versions can be removed from the rim with equal ease.

What does all this mean? I think either Sea-Lect cover would do equally well in rough water sea kayaking 99% of the time, with waves landing on the covers, or water pressure from rolling the boat, or from incidental jarring of the covers during rescues of other paddlers. Some have said the hard-plastic surface of the “performance” version is better for serious sea kayakers, rescues, etc. I think this may be true only during a rescue if a large victim lifts his/her entire body weight with a hand pressed right in the center of the “recreational” cover during the rescue (which would be bad rescue form in any case). Or if the bow of your kayak is buried deep in a wave while moving at speed. In those instances, maybe the “recreational” cover would be less secure than the “performance” version. But I expect the difference between the two is not that great. If you’re really concerned about rough-water, the Kajaksport and Valley-original hatches are both a bit harder to get on/off so may be more secure. Be interested to read what others have to say.