Armstrong Deck Plates

[Aheider]

Anyone replace the existing deck pie plates with the Armstrong deck plates? I'm curious how high they stick up compared to the factory plates.

 

[Mpellet]

Anyone replace the existing deck pie plates with the Armstrong deck plates? I'm curious how high they stick up compared to the factory plates.

I have Armstrongs and they do stick up a bit. Not high enough to stub a toe but high enough that if you slid a cooler or any other sort of box over the plates, you would notice it….

 

[Aheider]

I replaced the factory with some pie plates from boat outfitters. Seemed okay, but the plastic felt brittle. Managed to crack one of the flanges when I screwed it down. I was being extremely careful and it didn't take much.

Ordered some Beckson DP64-W to replace my replacements. They all stick up a little, but the Armstrong looked higher. No specs on their website that I could find. Do you think your Armstrongs are higher than your typical replacement pie plates that screw down?

 

[12Parker2320]

The Armstrong deck plates are good but they do stick up a bit more than other screw down plates. I have one on my bracket which I assume was factory installed and it has kept the inside of the bracket bone dry. I replaced the pry up deck plates with Tempress screw down plates and they have been great. They are flush to the deck as much as the pry up plates were

 

[Aheider]

The Armstrong deck plates are good but they do stick up a bit more than other screw down plates. I have one on my bracket which I assume was factory installed and it has kept the inside of the bracket bone dry. I replaced the pry up deck plates with Tempress screw down plates and they have been great. They are flush to the deck as much as the pry up plates were

I have the same Armstrong plate on my bracket and probably sticks up the same height as their smaller deck plates, although I'm not 100% sure. The Boat Outfitters 6" deck plate advertise a watertight O ring seal, which is not true. There is no O ring, it's more of a felt gasket. And when you snug it down, a real bear to open. The Beckson on the other hand does have an O ring, and is much easier on the fingers. I like Boat Outfitters for a lot of their stuff, but wouldn't recommend their pie plates to anyone.

 

[12Parker2320]

I have the same Armstrong plate on my bracket and probably sticks up the same height as their smaller deck plates, although I'm not 100% sure. The Boat Outfitters 6" deck plate advertise a watertight O ring seal, which is not true. There is no O ring, it's more of a felt gasket. And when you snug it down, a real bear to open. The Beckson on the other hand does have an O ring, and is much easier on the fingers. I like Boat Outfitters for a lot of their stuff, but wouldn't recommend their pie plates to anyone.

The O’ring pry up deck plates are doomed to fail over time. I wasn’t willing to allow anymore water intrusion into my fuel tank compartment after mine failed. They are the notorious culprit for fuel tank corrosion

 

[pelagic2530]

The O’ring pry up deck plates are doomed to fail over time. I wasn’t willing to allow anymore water intrusion into my fuel tank compartment after mine failed. They are the notorious culprit for fuel tank corrosion

You're not likely to find a true watertight pie plate that will remain watertight for any significant length of time.

The issue is that, unless it's plumbed for drainage, rainwater or water on deck will get into the "gap" in the lid where the screw-in or pop-out section meets the frame. Figure that on a 6" plate, the whole area of the plate insert will collect rainwater which has to get past that gap to run off onto the deck and out the scuppers. Therefore, for the duration of the rain storm, that gap will be full of water. Any imperfection in the seal will allow it to leak through into the compartment below, at which point further rain will refill the gap and leakage will continue for the duration of the rain event.

While a bit flimsier, the pry-out plates that have a lip that covers the whole diameter of the plate actually give you the best shot at keeping water out of the hole. This is because the lip covers the gap, allowing rain water to run off the top of the plate and on to the deck rather than into a gap. This greatly reduces the amount of water that makes its way into the gap, and can therefore leak through the hole.

They won't prevent water from entering if you've got a significant amount of standing water (over a 1/4" or so), such as with a torrential downpour, clogged scuppers, water on deck from backing down, etc... but neither will the screw in types, as described above. Maintenance of the o-ring is the most critical part for preventing water intrusion regardless of the type of pie plate, since it provides the only sealing surface to hold the water in the gap until it can evaporate.

True "watertight" hatches are surprisingly difficult to engineer and are very expen$ive to procure and install, and none of them are made out of plastic. And like I said above, most of them rely heavily on a drain line to divert water that accumulates in the track either overboard or to a dedicated drain sump.

 

[Inshore Chaser]

The O’ring pry up deck plates are doomed to fail over time. I wasn’t willing to allow anymore water intrusion into my fuel tank compartment after mine failed. They are the notorious culprit for fuel tank corrosion

Pry up deck plates work better than screw in plates just so you replace the inexpensive "O" ring each season. The screw in plates will always leak through the threads since they are open to rain, etc

 

[12Parker2320]

Pry up deck plates work better than screw in plates just so you replace the inexpensive "O" ring each season. The screw in plates will always leak through the threads since they are open to rain, etc

Literally heard the exact opposite when I was researching and asking around. Even boat outfitters website states the screw down version are dryer and allow less water intrusion than the pry up deck plates. For me personally I couldn’t find a replacement O’ring for my pry up plates. The ones from west marine and online wouldn’t fit. I needed an immediate fix as it was leaking pretty good. I don’t have an issue with standing water as my boat is trailered and never sits uncovered but the water from my wash down pump and just cleaning the boat was becoming a problem. In any case my screw down deck plates have been water tight but it’s something I will keep an eye on

 

[warthog5]

The Armstrongs ARE Watertite ! I've used them a fair amount. I've done 3 - 19ft Cape Horns where I took the 6in out of the splashwell and installed 10 X 20's. This gave ample access to actually clean..... and work in the bilge.

To get them to not be toe stubbers.... It takes some extra work and the Real Time to do this work is when the deck is up. You Glue a Ring in below the deck surface. This allows the cross T of the Armstrong to grab that Ring and the protrusion sits flush with the deck.

I've bought Armstrongs all along thru Armstrong.... But I see they are available thru Boat Outfitters now [At same Price] Screw in's...... Snap in's ...... O Ring or not... WILL leak!

Here's the problem.... YOU think it's sealed.... But it's Not and thus allows want access into your tank cavity. 12-15yrs of leaking and now your putting a tank in the boat. And the whole time..... You through it was sealed. Armstrong changed their website.... They use to have a pix with one of their pieholes in the side of a aquarium with Gold Fish in

 

[Bodick93]

I have the snap-in type where the lid covers the whole base. Like Pelagic said, they shed MOST of the water before it challenges the "O" ring. Not saying they are better than Armstrongs.

The other thing I do is put a bead of Lifeseal around the corner of the inside mating surface. You can still pop them up with little difficulty, peel off the Lifeseal and reapply when snapping them back in. It also helps keep them from spinning when you step on them.

I may go to Armstrong if these fail, but it seems like a good combo. Raised lip of the base to shed the water running on the deck and a "roof" over the entire base with a extra seal between the two at the highest point.

 

[Aheider]

The Armstrong deck plates are good but they do stick up a bit more than other screw down plates. I have one on my bracket which I assume was factory installed and it has kept the inside of the bracket bone dry. I replaced the pry up deck plates with Tempress screw down plates and they have been great. They are flush to the deck as much as the pry up plates were

What sealant did you use when you installed the deck plates?

 

[southofblock]

Plan to replace the two pop out lids with two Armstrong plates on my 2018 2501.

The deck is about 1” thick. I am considering routing out a lip to recess the plate into, maybe about 1/4” deep, around the edge. I have measured gap below deck, there is enough room for the Armstrong securing bar, even with the embedded lip.

I had over one thousand hours on two Armstrong plates on my old boat, never leaked, never loose.

 

[Aheider]

Plan to replace the two pop out lids with two Armstrong plates on my 2018 2501.

The deck is about 1” thick. I am considering routing out a lip to recess the plate into, maybe about 1/4” deep, around the edge. I have measured gap below deck, there is enough room for the Armstrong securing bar, even with the embedded lip.

I had over one thousand hours on two Armstrong plates on my old boat, never leaked, never loose.

I think that would definitely help with the height of the deck plate, however a new raw edge to keep sealed might not be worth it. But I've been wrong before.

 

[southofblock]

I would glass the raw edge, though a water trap along the upper edge would exist. The Armstrong plates do need a clean flat even surface. The routing needs to be done well (and not by me)

 

[tomc585]

you can do it