Inflatable seals for ship hatches, watertight doors, hangar closures and submerged service. Built to your opening, matched to any OEM profile, made in the USA.
A hatch or watertight door on a vessel has to move freely in service and then seal against weather, wash-down and green water, on a structure that flexes, corrodes and is never perfectly true. Compression gaskets on sliding hatches drag, wear unevenly and lose their seal as the structure works. An inflatable seal separates the two jobs: it sits retracted in its channel while the hatch travels, then inflates to press evenly around the entire perimeter, taking up distortion, build tolerance and wear on every closing.
Deck hatches, sliding and folding hatch covers, helicopter hangar doors, watertight and weathertight doors, and equipment access covers on commercial vessels, yachts and naval ships. Endless-loop seals with molded corners, including S-bend geometry for shaped openings, retained in a steel channel mechanically or with adhesive. Compounds selected for saltwater, UV and, where needed, fuel exposure on flight and hangar decks. See the marine industry page for the full application range.
Hull and bulkhead penetrations, water intakes, caisson and cofferdam sealing, and equipment that operates submerged in seawater. DRI engineers seals and inflatable bladders for continuous immersion, cyclic inflation under water, and sealing surfaces that cannot be machined flat. Fabric reinforcement carries pressure across wide, uneven gaps.
Every seal is engineered to the opening it closes. The ranges below are the envelope DRI builds to; the exact material, profile and working pressure are set from your gap, channel and service.
| Hatches & Doors | Submerged Service | |
|---|---|---|
| Service environment | Saltwater spray, UV, ozone, wash-down, icing | Continuous seawater immersion, hydrostatic pressure with depth |
| Seal inflation pressure | 0.5–3 bar typical, set from gap and exposure | Set above local water pressure; fabric-reinforced for wide gaps |
| Material | EPDM or neoprene; nitrile or FKM where fuel or oil is present | EPDM or neoprene compounded for long-term seawater service |
| Configuration | Endless loop with molded corners and S-bends; very large perimeters | Endless loop or closed-end bladder forms |
| Mounting | Retained in steel C-channel, mechanically or adhesive-bonded | Grooved, clamped or bonded, to suit the structure |
| Specifications | Can be engineered to specific naval and coast guard specifications | |
Most marine seal orders replace a seal that has hardened in the sun, cracked at a corner, or no longer holds against a worked structure. The channel is already fitted to the vessel, so the new seal has to fit it. DRI works from any of three things:
See the seal profile library for the standard sections DRI starts from.
A sliding hatch cannot compress a conventional gasket evenly along its travel. An inflatable seal sits retracted in its channel while the hatch moves, then inflates to close the gap around the full perimeter, including corner radii and S-bends, sealing weathertight or watertight with no adjustment of the hatch itself.
Yes. DRI builds inflatable seals for submerged service, including hull and intake penetrations and equipment operating at depth. The compound, reinforcement and working pressure are selected for the depth, cycle count and seawater exposure of the application.
EPDM and neoprene compounds with strong saltwater, UV and ozone resistance are the standard choices. Where fuels or oils are present, such as aviation fuel on a hangar deck, nitrile or FKM compounds are used. Seals can be engineered to meet specific naval and coast guard specifications.
Seals are produced as continuous endless loops with molded corners, including S-bend corner geometry, for very large openings. Perimeters of tens of meters are practical as one continuous seal, and large seals can also be supplied in spliced sections.
Yes. Send the OEM part number, a cross-section sketch, or a sample of the existing seal. DRI matches the profile so it fits the existing channel or groove, and can improve the compound, splice or reinforcement where the original is failing.