Deflatable seals

Deflatable seals for yacht doors and hatches

Watertightness of hulls

The use of rubber seals for passenger ships is subject to international regulations. To meet these regulations the options for the design of rubber seals for yacht doors are limited in areas vital to the buoyancy of the ship. In case of a calamity, the hull’s watertightness must be guaranteed to allow for ample rescueing time.

• Compression seals  are the first choice, but these call for heavy electric drives and hinges to operate and rotate doors in place.
• Inflatable seals depend on positive pressure within the seal’s internal air chamber to assure watertightness by expansion. In case of a calamity, a power malfunction or punture of these seals can compromise watertightness.

Deflatable seals : advantages combined

Deflatable seals for yacht doors and hatches combine the safety of compression seals with the advantages of inflatable seals.

• Hinge clearance : by deflating a deflatable seal clearance is created to manoeuvre doors and hatches in place. Hinges can be of a single action style, since there’s less need for movement in 2 planes.
• Drives : the number and thrust of drives to actuate the doors or hatches is decreased :
  –  Single plane motion
  –  Lighter construction requiring less thrust
• Auto-sealing

During closing and opening of door or hatch seals must be deflated to create clearance to move doors. In case of a calamity a deflatable seal is independent of any of the ship’s system and will still provide a watertight seal.