Lund Storage...Is It Watertight?

[Bob]

I would like to hear from Lund owners on the storage compartments of there respective boats. The dealer I am dickering with says they are water tight. They don't appear that way to me & I have read numerous posts (from non Lund owners) saying that they are not water tight. Owners of Lund boats, please give me the honest answer. Thanks

[dave]

Not a chance, no way. Owned various models for the past 10 years and even my current 1900 prov gets wet. Need a Ranger or another glass model with some sort of raised lip to get complete dry storage.

[The Eyes_Have it]

My 1999 2025 is dry.

[letmgo]

I have a 2001 ProV 1800, watertight? Man are they filling you full of hot air!! NO WAY!!!

[REW]

The only way to have a tight storage area - is to have the area completely enclosed - with a tight gasketed - locking lid. Any thing less than that will surely result in moisture - in heavy seas.
Remember - it is not that unusual - to spear a wave - or have a big cross wave dump 20 or 30 gallons of water into the boat.
Talk to the dealer - and ask them to run a test for you.

Take a garden hose - with the storage lid closed - and spray water into the bow of the boat for 15 minutes. I assume that you can leave the blige pump running to keep the bilge pumped out.

After 15 minutes - check the storage area. Is it dry???

If the dealer says that this isn't fair -- ask him what happens to the storage area - when you go fishing at 6 in the morning on a tournament day - and are in a heavy rain from the time you leave the dock - until you get back - 6 hours later. If you have dry storage - the boat should easily be able to hold up to this treatment.

I have neaver seen a dry bow storage area in a boat - if part of the storage sides - is the bare hull of the boat. It is literally impossible to get a tight seal on the sides of the storage area between the box and sides of the hull. If you want a dry storage area - you need to have a plastic (or equivalent) box, with a sealed top - much like a tupper ware bowel - to keep everything dry. Many of the glass boats - do exactly that --- i.e. they mold boxes into their hull, with raised lip, and drainage areas on the lips t allow the water that builds up in the box lip - to drain off into the bilge. Then the lid has a rubber gasket - to insure complete dryness.

p.s.
If you want to buy a boat - what ever manufacture - that you want to have dry storage - you can pull out the casting platform - and install - custom boxes into the area. Then, these boxes can actually be completely water tight.

It might be possible that if this were really high on your wish list - to talk directly to Lund, and have them custom build a box into "Your " boat - when they build it. They might find that it is a desirable feature that they could incorporate into models as an extra price option - much like adding a 2nd console.

The key thing -
Completely enclosed box.
Raised edges on the top of the box.
Drain channels on the top edges of the box, to drain off water.
Gaskets and locks on the lid - to compress the rubber and seal the lid.

If these condiditons are met, you will have water tight storage.

Take care
REW

[knappy]

2001 Fisherman: storage definitely not watertight - Lund , then, and I believe even now (though I haven't tested other models) does not seal the hull to deck joint. After getting the front compartments soaked and working for a sealing company I tested the compartment areas for leak sources (using smoke generation system). I found a huge source of leak to be under the bow cap and then along the hull to deck joint. Sealing those leaks, the storage compartments stay somewhat drier. Though given the nature of the compartment designs (open) getting completely dry storage isn't going to happen. This dry storage issue is one of my complaints with my Lund.

[Buck]

I have the 1900 Pro V IFS. The only dry storage I have found on the boat is the glove box. All of the others have been wet at one point or another. I use plastic dry bags to keep things dry up front.

[dave]

then you've never had your 2025 in a hard rain, there isn't a lund made that has dry storage - unless we are talking glove boxes!

[MarkG]

Lund ,in the past few years has improved its lid designs to keep water out of most places. Mine stay pretty dry even in a hard rain EXCEPT...when the hull fills up with water ,,,such as it would sitting in a hard rain at a dock overnight un-attended,and no automatic bilge pump. Then they will fill up from the bottom and be quite waterlogged. Especially the bow compartments that sit much lower in the hull,than the side ones. So the real answer is NO ! it is NOT DRY storage,definitly NOT "watertight". A true dry storage would be a compartment with a liner similer to your livewell but with no fittings or drains etc,that would seal the compartment off from the bilge as well as to the outside world up top. No Lund I have ever seen has this. I have seen some Alumacrafts (at least some older models) and some others that did.Usually however they will only do it with one compartment not all.

[Tom]

Lund and it's GOOD dealers such as myself will tell you that they are not watertight. Your wifes Tupperware might be but you all know how hard it is to get one of those out of the house.