Tarpon 120 Rod Holders Hole

[B yakin]

Glad I could help.

[JohnE]

A little off topic, but the center hatches on these things do not hold up very well. I took on water again yesterday in heavy chop out at cbbt. Thought I had it under control. I completely filled the kayak with a garden hose and the center orbix hatch is not water tight at all. The water just pours right out by the hinge. I can only get it to slow down to a trickle if I stand on it and grab the side handle to put enough pressure with my foot. I think the hinge is just ruined on my tarpon and going to order a replacement. I am about to inspect my ride 135 just in case and I am not going to be happy if it has the same issue.

I was almost about to pull the trigger on preordering a thresher, but now I am having second thoughts after the hatch issue and hearing about them doing something so stupid as shipping out kayaks with big gaping holes in them. Were the flush mount rod holders factory installed or dealer installed?

[Frogsauce]

Don't know about the rod holders, I bought it second hand. They look factory though.

Mine has the older style rubber hatches. I soaked them in lestoil when I got them. Then I typically use aerospace 303 on them. Works pretty good and they are air-tight.

I'm not sure about the orbix hatch, but looks like they did a re-design on them in the last few years.

[JohnE]

The older style hatches are probably actually better. The orbix hatches seem like they would be a good improvement, but they do not hold up. My tarpon is a 2009, the first year they came out with the newer style hatches.

I thought you had a new tarpon 120. I doubt wilderness would ship out anything with with missing parts like yours unless it was just a really rare error. Must have been dealer installed or just a diy job by previous owner. Wilderness makes some of the best most bulletproof kayaks money can buy. I am pretty sure the orbix hatches are made by a third party, so I guess it is really not the company itself I have issue with. Still, I think the hatches are going to need an update. I am pretty sure they are still going to be in use on the 2015 rides and tarpons. The thresher is going to have a scuppered front hatch and I hope the center pod is a much better design than the orbix hatches.

[Frogsauce]

Yeah I certainly hope so too. I have two kayaks I am watching, one is the Thresher and the other is the Viking Profish Reload. Hopefully, the thresher will come through on the promises and hype.

[reel-em-in]

I doubt wilderness would ship out anything with with missing parts like yours unless it was just a really rare error.

I bought my 2012 tarpon 140 brand new. It came missing the seal on the front orbix hatch. Talk about leaking water...

[JohnE]

That does suck and yes you would take on a ton of water there in choppy conditions without a gasket. Especially with that recessed area around the front hatch. I was thinking about getting some super high quality o ring cord and splicing kit to replace the foam one that comes stock on the front hatch and maybe sealing up the recessed area with silicone. But I don't think mine leaks hardly at all right there, at least not enough to cause problems. It is the center hatch that is the main problem. Hopefully the replacement hatch works properly. I am determined to make this yak seaworthy again, especially before passing it on to somebody else. I will not sell somebody a kayak that is not safe.

[JohnE]

Just got the replacement orbix hatch and guess what? The brand new one leaks. I tested it before even bothering to remove my other one just in case and glad I did. Not very happy. I thought the old one was just worn out, but is appears that the round orbix hatch design is just plain defective to begin with.

[sparky1423]

Just got the replacement orbix hatch and guess what? The brand new one leaks. I tested it before even bothering to remove my other one just in case and glad I did. Not very happy. I thought the old one was just worn out, but is appears that the round orbix hatch design is just plain defective to begin with.

That was the main reason why I sold my Tarpon. My front hatch leaked so bad one day after constantly taking chop over the bow...I almost did not make it back to launch. I would estimate 3 gallons of water in the hull, I could barely lift it out of the water! The next day I bought a bilge pump, one inside every kayak now.

[Frogsauce]

Wow those orbix hatches are starting to scare me. Sparky, was yours the orbix style too? Mine is the rubber one, but it seals air tight. I only get a few drops of water in through the drain plug now, but I am going to fix that with an o-ring.

[sparky1423]

Wow those orbix hatches are starting to scare me. Sparky, was yours the orbix style too? Mine is the rubber one, but it seals air tight. I only get a few drops of water in through the drain plug now, but I am going to fix that with an o-ring.

It was a 2012, I think it was the orbit hatch. They have redesigned them for 2015

[JohnE]

I actually took the time to completely fill the tarpon with a garden hose and had to jack it up with a floor jack to get all the water out. It is entire water tight except for center hatch, which really sucks because it is close to submerged right where the weak point on the hatch sits. If you exceed 260 pounds in rough conditions you could take on enough water to sink after a while. It is a good kayak for people well under 200 pounds, but I am done risking my life taking it out to places like cbbt.

I guess I will have to good with being slow and sore paddling the ride 135 until I can afford something stable, safe, and fast. I just got it ready to take to the beach tomorrow but now the seat is falling apart and the retainer washers I bought from ack are too small and pull right through the seat.

I thought the thresher might be the one, but holding off now.

[Frogsauce]

Dang John, your having a rough time with that one. I'm sure you looked into putting rubber trim around the edges of the hatch? If you lived closer I would say feel free to pick through my garage for something that might fit that washer.

[JohnE]

Yeah man, bad luck. Truck is in for recall and defects also. Rental sucks compared to mine and just noticed the trailer hitch removed, which I really need for work.

I found some at the auto parts store that actually work great on the seat. Better than new now. The ride is basically perfect, except for that defective center hatch, but you would practically have to be a sumo wrestler for it to be much of an issue on that beast.

[deleonjo]

My center hatch was leaking also. I removed the hatch and added marine goop to both sides of the cheesy foam gasket and it seems to be tight now. My tarpon is a 2013. Don't know if it was leaking from the start since I rarely took water over the bow or gunwales until I started going out into the bay in rougher conditions this year.