Tarpon 120 Rod Holders Hole

[Frogsauce]

I noticed an oversight on Wilderness Systems part with their rod holders on a Tarpon 120... The bottom of the rod holder is open, allowing water to enter the kayak at a pretty fast rate.

Before I go and make a mess with marine goop and plastic epoxy, has anyone else done anything about this and can share their solution?

[kevinfry]

Pm ictalarus. He dealt with this. Such a bonehead move by WS. Even the tarpon knock offs like the pompano 120 are smarter than that

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[Cowpokey]

Can you put up a couple pictures? I've never looked at one.

I had success filling the holes left behind when I took the rod holder covers off of my Outback with a hot glue gun. Might be a difficult task getting hot glue in there with out making a mess though?

Pluging the screw holes on the surface was easy.

[JohnE]

What rod holders? I talked to a guy at cbbt yesterday with a brand new 120 and there were none on his. The 140 I got used has some but they don't leak. It did leak in a couple other locations though. I seem to have the lesks under control after a close call returning from 1st island yesterday.

[reel-em-in]

What rod holders? I talked to a guy at cbbt yesterday with a brand new 120 and there were none on his. The 140 I got used has some but they don't leak. It did leak in a couple other locations though. I seem to have the lesks under control after a close call returning from 1st island yesterday.

Not all tarpons come with rod holders from the factory. You need the "angler edition" to have the factory installed ones.

[JohnE]

Yeah, I see now that the angler edition does have them. I don't think my flush mount holders with the recessed hole were installed at the factory. What brand are the factory ones? Mine are seadogs and they seem to be much better quality than the others I have seen. Maybe the factory rod holders can be removed and seadogs might fit in the same location.

I actually thought about installing some on my ride 135 when I first got it, but all the rod holders I looked at were such poor quality...e.g., thin plastic caps on bottom with only friction holding them in place, no gasket on top or caps/plugs. I just went with scotty mounts for rocket launchers where the flush mounts would have gone instead and I'm very glad I did that.

Are the hatches leaking on your tarpons? I took on enough water to almost sink the other day out at cbbt. Filled the hull with water to inspect when I bought this one, but did not go over everything well enough apparently. I think I was close to capacity and may have had the rear tankwell scuppers partially plugged with my soft cooler. Well, the screw for the carry handle in the tankwell was loose and I was picking up a lot of water through that little hole. I believe I was also taking on water through the center hatch. Checked every screw on the thing yesterday and played with the hatches and then took it out to hrbt in rough conditons. I still take on a small amount of water in heavy chop, most likely through the front hatch. Going to work on it a little more this week.

My ride 135 has basically been perfect. I am surprised by the issues with the tarpon. I am seeing a lot complaints about leaks on these things on the internet. Wish I knew that before I risked my life taking my tarpon 140 out to cbbt instead of my ride 135. If anybody buys a used tarpon, please go over every piece of deck rigging and every screw on the thing before taking it out. I guess you better check it brand new as well. I can't believe they would send out kayaks with huge gaping holes in them.

[Shady]

Best bet may just be to replace them. I have a tarpon 100 and have no complaints, although I don't take it out more than a few times per year. I got the regular model and added flush mount rod holders myself

[Frogsauce]

Yeah this is the angler edition. I sealed up everything else, only about a half a cup of water gets in if it doesn't get flipped. But if water gets up high enough to run down the rod holders, it will fill up fast.

I'm sure I can figure something out with plastic epoxy and marine goop. But that's messy. I tried pool noodle cutouts, but it wasn't waterproof enough.

[buzz]

If you have an access hatch and can get to the bottom I would try gluing a PVC cap on the end.... or replacing them like Shady said.

[Frogsauce]

That PVC cap is a good idea. I'm gonna try that next. If it doesn't work out, looks like I might be replacing them.

[buzz]

That PVC cap is a good idea. I'm gonna try that next. If it doesn't work out, looks like I might be replacing them.

A word of warning...

The cap should work... BUT if it doesn't you better think about how you are going to remove the cap and the holder in case you decide to replace the entire rod holder. You will have to remove the cap to slide the rod holder out.

If you can't remove the cap you might be able to slide it up enough so your can cut the old rod holder with a hacksaw.

...just thinking ahead... good luck
Will be interested to hear how you finally solved this situation.

[B yakin]

image.jpg

The factory caps came off of my rod holders on my Malibu stealth and were letting water in. I picked up two of these rubber caps in the plumbing section. Works like a champ and are easily removable if need be.

[Frogsauce]

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The factory caps came off of my rod holders on my Malibu stealth and were letting water in. I picked up two of these rubber caps in the plumbing section. Works like a champ and are easily removable if need be.

That looks perfect, gonna track a couple of those down. I'll let you guys know how it ends up working out. Looks like you saved me a mess.

[Frogsauce]

Those rubber caps worked like a charm. Thanks for the idea!

[Frogsauce]

After fixing these rod holders and sealing the back hatch a bit better, the inside of the yak is now air tight. Time to take it out and roll it around and see how it holds up to the water.