Where's the leak?

[jsnyd86]

I'd think the dune color would get less hot since it's near a sandy white. Am I thinking of the wrong color?


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[Hemingway]

Actually, it is the olive color, and it does get really warm inside the hull, but I am skeptical that all that water could come from condensation as the rep. suggested.

[Mark]

I have an olive Revo. I get a trickle of water on most trips in choppy water, nothing substantial. I never considered it to be condensation.

Most of my trips are in the Bay or its tributaries. If I rub my finger along the inside floor of the boat after it has been stored and completely and dried out, I get a little salt on my finger.

If you use your boat in the Bay, let the Hobie rep take the "salt test". I don't think salt would be from condensation, would it?

[JohnE]

I think the most you would see from condensation is some droplets. It would just be damp inside, not puddles. If it was suggested that puddles were from condensation, I find that to be a ridiculous suggestion.

The Hobies definitely leak through the rudder tubes and other non sealed locations that you can't really seal completely. I don't think all that many Hobie owners fish in conditions that would cause them to leak excessively or we would hear more about problems with leaks.

I never really looked at the rudder tubes that close before, but I do not like how they are designed now that I look at them. The holes seem excessively large for the diameter of the rudder lines and I did not realize the tubes could slip out so easily. I also noticed that that the large o ring on my rear hatch seems rather loose and might be possible that it does not seal well every time you close it. I am going to look it over more this week and do some leak tests as well.

[Hemingway]

If it was suggested that puddles were from condensation, I find that to be a ridiculous suggestion.

+1

[Salty Dog]

For what it is worth, I have a Cuda 14, If I leave the hatches closed during storage and in hot weather without rain, I get about 1 quart of condensation in the hull in about 2 days. If I leave one of the hatches open, no condensation. I guess I am lucky since I have never experienced water leakage in the hull from use.

[ComeOnFish]

I and Tufnik had leak thru the Seat peck (expansion plug) holes on Revo (2011) and Outback (2011). It may be the known issue.

Here are my post and Tufnik's:

My post regarding leak on Revo 2011:

I came back home after driving 45 minutes. I decided to go to Kipto. ER was the backup. Since Hobie Outback is too heavy to pull on the long sandy trail at Kipto, I took Hobie Revo. While I was driving, I recognized that I didn't inspect the Revo after suspecting cracks on the hull. Twice in a row last year there was 3-4 and 5-6 gallons of water in the hull after fishing for 6 and 9 hours. That was why I haven't used the Revo for a while.

I came back home. Well, I didn't think switching kayak and driving almost 4 hours would work. So I gave up fishing. Instead I inspected the hull, but I couldn't find the crack. I put the kayak on a bunch of exercise mats and poured water in.

I found the crack. The crack was inside of a seat peg hole. I called the Hobie at Wood Bridge. At the Wood Bridge, while I was waiting, all four seat peg holes were repaired/reenforced. Also put the new (on 2013/2014 model) seat peg receivers on the kayak and new seat pegs on the seat. All this was under warranty for the 2011 Revo. I was very pleased by Hobie's warranty policy.

I inspected Outback too. Now I am ready to go.


Tufnik's reply:

I too had a crack in one of the peg holes from the expansion plugs. BYB Woodbridge charged me $50 to repair the hole and retrofit both holes with the new slotted plugs in my 2011 Outback. This was done last fall. You must have charmed them well to get it free, Joe.

[JohnE]

So maybe the condensation suggestion is not completely ridiculous, but rather amazing to me. I have left my hatches closed plenty of times in up to 100 degree heat and I have never witnessed this condensation effect myself.

[Hemingway]

Yeah, the Hobie Rep. said that the Company feels that up to a coffee can full of water is normal and acceptable. Strangely, my gray WS Ride got hot and was always dry as a bone. So I really am at a lost. It is a hassle to deal with a dry bag all the time, instead of just being able to quickly access clothes etc. in my small pack I carry in the center hatch.

[JohnE]

My red and my green kayak never suffered from condensation issue that I ever noticed and those are hot colors. I definitely have not noticed it with white/dune outback.

I installed the rectangular hatch on the outback with the hopes of increased dry storage. It is still nice to have the easy access to more storage below deck, but anything that has to stay dry needs to be put in a dry bag anyway also on mine.

-I hooked up the air compressor and performed the soapy water test on my outback. It leaks some places you would normally suspect that I can tell so far: rudder lines (especially on the stern); the sailing mast, a couple screws on the side pockets; a little bit on the Hobie thru hull clam I installed for depthfinder; one of the two screws directly adjacent to the rudder up control line (what are those for anyway?);the front hatch leaks air when pressurized (but air is pushing open the seal so not an issue otherwise) and it is easier to notice leaks when pressing down on it (I should place a weight on it next time). The only leak from items I installed myself was the thru hull clam, which is an easy fix. The fact that there are factory installed screws which leak and sailing mast leak is a little annoying.

Right now, I am finding it hard to believe that I would take on 1-2 gallons through these extremely small leaks. I suppose it is possible that it all comes in through the rudder line penetrations adjacent to the rudder with the kayak loaded and many following waves crashing onto the stern, plus some pretty heavy weight in the rear tankwell (soft cooler with clams, ice, drinks...etc). This has been one of my gripes on the hull design from my first days fishing out of an Outback...I wish the stern was a little more substantial and did not drag ass so much (yes I am a little heavy, but I stay outside 100 pounds under rated capacity fully loaded). Yesterday, I put my cooler of clams and ice on the front hatch and I did not take on hardly any water at all in some rather choppy conditions for a few hours.

I might fill the hull with water and look for more leaks, but I would have taken on more water the past couple days since the big water infiltration so I don't know if I will even bother. Not sure how to support it right now to look other than just leaving it on the ground--a little worried about putting that much weight in it. One nice thing about the hull design is I now know that the water which does come in on choppy days can be removed easily with a large bilge sponge by shifting weight a little forward. I got so worried on Sunday because when I had a tarpon it was basically impossible to get the water out since it all went to the stern (you would have to have a pump rigged up with a long hose to reach all the way back there from the center hatch).

Now that I have experienced heavy water infiltration--and know how to manage it and identify how much is inside easily without returning to shore--it does not bother me very much. I just need to keep that big bilge sponge closeby on really rough days and try to limit how much weight I put in the rear tankwell. I still love my outback despite some quirks and don't think I would trade it for any other kayak at this point.

[J.A. Veil]

I would encourage you to fill it 1/4 to 1/2 way up with water. Hairline cracks are not easily distinguishable from scratch marks. But if you have a thin crack in an area of the boat that flexes while on the water, you can get a fraction of an ounce of water influx on each flex. Over several hours, it could add up to a gallon.

When I checked mine, I set the bow on my front porch (up three steps from the yard). I supported the stern with a wooden end table sitting on the lawn. The boat was pretty much level and sitting upright. It did not take too much water in the hatch before I could see a small seep by the scupper hole. Any place where the plastic is thinner or makes sharp bends is a potential candidate.

Good luck in finding the leak.

[JohnE]

Thanks. You are absolutely right. I would much rather know for certain--or at least have a very high level of certainty--that there are no cracks. I just put it up on the bed of my truck with some heavy duty sawhorses on the other end, a bunch of foam, pool noodles, pillows and whatever else I could find to add support. Filled to way more than half, probably 85 percent actually and nothing. Pumping it out now with a 6 volt battery and livewell pump.

-Going over everything with a fine tooth comb and there is a slight issue with the o ring on the rear hatch. If I run my finger around it, there is slack and a gap is created without pulling tension on it. I luckily still have the round center hatch (which is exactly the same as the rear hatch), so I compared the o rings to find the one on my rear hatch is a bigger diameter. I think my issue on Sunday was combination of bad seal on the rear hatch and that rudder tube popping loose. Possible that there was a batch of bad o rings on some of the hatches. -You may want to check/replace yours, Hemingway. Wonder if this could be a known issue to Hobie? Might be a warranty repair, but they are only about 8 bucks each to buy them. I think a little duct seal on my depth finder thru hull clam, swap out the hatch o ring, tighten those screws, and I am back to good as new (which means still dealing with some water infiltration on rough days--I guess the coffee can standard sounds about right, but I really wish there was a way to seal everything up a little better.

[Hemingway]

Thanks Guys, for the ideas. It has pushed me continue the quest instead of just living with it. I just went over the entire yak and Gooped every possible point of entry. In the process I discovered the FF wire cap in the Revo's side pocket was loose. Tighten and Gooped it, fairly sure that was part (or all) of the problem. I fish the open bay almost exclusively, and I always have water in that side pocket from the waves and splash of all those CNR showers lol. I am going Fri. I will let you know how I make out.

[Hemingway]

OK, great news on my problem. After tightening the FF wire cap in the side pocket along with Gooping everything, I was out in the open bay for around seven hours yesterday, and the Revo was almost totally dry!

[jsnyd86]

Congrats! I'll have to give this one another look. I was out for a bit this morning and had maybe a third to half gallon after 4 hours.


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