Upgrading to Friction Hinges

When they first hit the recreational marine market, friction hinges were widely hailed as a development that would completely replace gas shocks and support springs on hatches. Now, a decade later, friction hinges remain popular with both boat builders and DIY boat owners but are no longer seen as the be-all and end-all they were at first. Instead, boaters and builders have learned that, like just about everything else, friction hinges are ideal in some applications and not-so-ideal in others.

Friction hinges have a few distinct advantages over other hatch support options, like gas shocks and support springs. If you’re thinking about using friction hinges on a new build or replacing existing hinges with friction hinges, here’s what you need to know:

With gas shocks or support springs, the shock or spring can get in the way, partially blocking access to the hatch when open. Also, when the hatch is closed, the spring or shock takes up room inside. Friction hinges achieve the same without additional hardware getting in the way.

Provided you can find friction hinges matching your existing hinges' footprint and hole pattern, installation is very easy. Gas shock installs are notoriously difficult to measure for and require locating and drilling new holes in both your hatch lid and the lip or wall of your compartment. Upgrading to friction hinges is essentially “plug-and-play.”

Although friction hinges have a lot of advantages and seem like the best option for many hatch and door applications, there are some disadvantages.  

The resistance of friction hinges is created by special friction washers made from a copper alloy called phosphor bronze. Although the analogy isn’t exact, you can think of them sort of like the drag washers on fishing reels. And, just like reel drag washers, friction washers gradually wear out. How long that takes to happen depends on a lot of factors, but the frequency of use is a big one.

The more often you open and close a hatch, the sooner the friction hinges will wear out. The quality of your installation also plays a big role. If the barrels of your hinges aren’t aligned exactly, they’ll wear out much more quickly. Although some boaters have reported hinges wearing out in a year or less, the typical service life is much longer.

In some cases, if your friction hinges aren’t quite strong enough, they may hold your hatch lid in a vertical or near-vertical position but let it close otherwise. In other cases, like very small hatches that don’t give you much leverage on the hinge, lids may feel excessively stiff and require a lot of force to open.

In contrast, gas shocks are available in a variety of force ratings and lengths to work with hatches of different sizes and weights. Additionally, the effective force of a gas shock can be reduced by mounting it to the hatch lid closer to the hinge or increased by mounting it farther from the hinge.

Friction hinges are great for lots of applications, including livewell lids, electronics box doors, glove box doors, smaller anchor lockers, access doors, etc. They’re not as well suited for large, heavy hatches like in-deck fish boxes, coffin boxes or engine compartment hatches. That’s because even if you use enough friction hinges to effectively support the hatch, the hinges still put a great deal of strain on the hatch lid and deck.

Even on small and medium hatches, it’s preferable to through-bolt friction hinges and use the largest washers or backing plates possible. This helps prevent flexing of the laminate, screws pulling out and fastener holes becoming enlarged.