Great, will make call now and get back to you asap today.  Was going to invite two of the people that will be on GC trip, so you can meet.

Sounds great Jim!  Let me know if I have room for a passenger or two.  Looking forward to it.

Jim, The "magic #" I've heard for a cut-off in Deso (for hard-hulls) is 2K. (same as lower San Juan for getting thru' Govt. Rapid....

I'm revamping a Derald Stewart Boat for a guy Shannon Bingham, who is doing an early Sept. Deso as well, so you may see him. He's re-named the boat "Dandy Crossing" This is probably the Fall (of years) to pull it off, flow and precipitation-wise. Have a good trip, and thanks for the invite. One of these days.....

Jim, glad your trip went well. Why wouldn't it? That left entry at Lava is a bit...intimidating but it always is. Not a bad run tho' if you hit the "zone" and then it's a matter of keeping her straight. It's been spanking a lot of boats this year.

I don't have any good, pics of the GCE boats..even the one I built "Hakatai" (pre-digital camera phase). Basically, they all have an aluminum angle (for a drain channel),glued/screwed into a hardwood frame that is (also) glued/screwed-in under decks along the edge of the hatch-opening. A car-door type of weather-stripping seats-in onto this aluminum angle edge, and has a hollow core that compresses when the lid is closed. I've gone back to solid wood frames w/ a routed-out channel on my past, few boats, as I have a close tolerance established over the years on dimensions and such as I make the stock along the way. I use a self-adhesive, d-bulb, weatherstripping that is pretty darn dry and goes for 5-6 seasons before needing replaced.

I'm going to re-do the landings on my Briggs boat in this fashion, this winter.

Derald Stewart did a # of boats (GCE) and otherwise using this same, aluminum angle, but cut-out the decks 2" shy of the lids landing on the bulkheads, so he could make a full, picture frame landing. They've been a fairly serious "water-trap" over the years, tho' as the only means for the water to escape is two little holes drilled into the front (at bulkheads) into the angle. Allot of it escapes into the hatch itself, and the standing water, ends of dry-rotting. His most, utilitarian design was to mold fiberglass landings that are "raised" above the decks and the, molded lids, seat-down on top of this creating a double-seal and gravity works with you. They look a bit R.V. ish to me tho'. Very dry.

Oops, getting long winded there. I'll try to take some pics when I'm at the warehouse in Sept.