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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: Leakage  (Read 2675 times)

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redfish85

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • sunrise OK Prowler T13
  • Location: Seattle, wa
  • Date Registered: Jun 2007
  • Posts: 234
Hey all, so don't know if I'm posting this in the right spot or not but here goes anyway. So the last time I had my kayak out on the sound (5/6 I think it was) it was a long day 8+ hrs (well a long day for me lol) and it was a calm day say for the occasion rollers from freighters and the ferry that splashed over the yak. When I pulled out and was loading it on top of my trailblazer I heard some water I side and when I pulled the bow plug I had alot of water come out I'd say more than a cup or so... I've had alittle water in side before just no where near this much, just looking for ideas on where to start looking or what it might be, thanks all.


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
If rollers from ships were breaking over your kayak, the water probably got in under your front hatch. To check out this hypothesis, lay some newspapers on the bottom of your kayak inside the front hatch, close the hatch, squirt the area with a hose and/or dump a big bucket of water on the hatch, and then check the newspapers to see if water leaked in under the hatch.

A cup isn't enough to worry about.  A couple of gallons would be more worrisome.


bb2fish

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Oregon
  • Date Registered: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 1499
What year and style is your kayak?
One good way to check is to look inside the hull while the kayak is still on the water. You might see where the water is coming in.

I just discovered the source of a leak in my hobie Revolution that was about the same amount of water (a cup to a quart every trip) - it had been leaking since the day I bought it!!  If your kayak is new, bring it back to your dealer and ask them to find the leak.


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
What year and style is your kayak?
The header on his post says he has an "OK Prowler T13."


redfish85

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • sunrise OK Prowler T13
  • Location: Seattle, wa
  • Date Registered: Jun 2007
  • Posts: 234
Ok thanks Pete I never know if I should worry when I get water in the hull or not, just freaked me out since I'd never (well to the best I can recall) had that much in there before. Now and I'm assuming that if it does turn out to be the front hatch leaking the easiest way to remedy it would be to just replace the seal correct.
Bb2fish yeah like Pete pointed out it's an ocean kayak trident prowler 13, as for what year it's probably at least 6yrs old


Matt M

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Tigard
  • Date Registered: Mar 2016
  • Posts: 1236
I regularly get a cup or so of water in the hull of my kayak and it's not too much of a concern for me. Regardless though I always keep a bilge pump in the hull of my kayak, it's saved me once when I forgot to put the drain plug back in and took on some water and it also has helped someone else who huli'd as well.
-Matt

Old Town Sportsman 120 PDL


bb2fish

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Oregon
  • Date Registered: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 1499
I didnt see your kayak name in your title username header.

Personally, I would do some investigative work and try to find the leak. It might be splashes, but it might be below waterline or just at waterline since the isn't a large volume of water ingress. 

I recently discovered the source of my leak and I really wish I would have done some further investigation to find root cause instead of accepting a wet hull all these years. I carry a bilge pump and a sponge and also have my lunch and personal items in dry bags.


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
Ok thanks Pete I never know if I should worry when I get water in the hull or not, just freaked me out since I'd never (well to the best I can recall) had that much in there before. Now and I'm assuming that if it does turn out to be the front hatch leaking the easiest way to remedy it would be to just replace the seal correct.
If some experimentation shows that the water is coming in under your hatch, do some "prowling" around the internet in search of information about leaking front hatches on Ocean Kayak Trident Prowler 13 kayaks.  Every brand and model of kayak seems to have somewhat different hatch problems, and somewhat different fixes for those problems.  For example, if the problem is that there is a gap in that model of kayak between the inside of the hatch and the gasket, replacing the gasket won't fix the problem.  You might need to glue a strip of wet suit neoprene to the inside of the rim of the hatch cover to fill the gap.

The water could be coming in through a small crack in the hull, but I doubt it.  If you had a crack in your hull, in most locations you'd probably have a lot more than a cup of water in your kayak. One way to look for cracks is to inspect the bottom of your kayak while pushing in various spots to try to open up the crack.  There are some way more complicated ways to look for leaks, like figuring out a way to pressurize the kayak with the exhaust from a shop vacuum cleaner, painting the kayak with soapy water, and looking for bubbles.

But if you only got a cup of water inside your kayak, I say follow Bob Marley's advice, and "Don't Worry, Be Happy." 
« Last Edit: May 14, 2018, 08:36:39 AM by pmmpete »


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
As others have said, a cup can happen, but it could also be a leading indicator of sorts.  I'd add to the suggestions of others that flotation in the hull is also a good idea, making sure there's some in front as well as the stern so at least you'd stay level.  I always have two extra PDF's, one in front and rear and have found nearly all yaks have convenient dead space areas for hard Styrofoam.  Dry bags are also a good way to bring extra gear and have it as a backup flotation system.  The pump is also a permanent fixture as well.


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
Here's a couple of pictures of cracked whitewater kayaks.  The green kayak was an almost new kayak which cracked on a four day Jarbidge-Bruneau kayak trip.  We drilled a hole at each end of the crack to prevent it from getting longer, and patched it with raft repair fabric and vinyl glue which I carry in my repair kit.  The manufacturer replaced it under warranty.  The blue kayak was a very heavily used kayak which cracked due to extensive wear under its seat on a four day Selway kayak trip.  The owner patched it with duct tape, and sawed up the kayak and put it in the garbage after the trip.

When a friend discovered that his whitewater kayak had cracked during a rowdy creek run, he was delighted, and shouted "Now my wife will finally let me buy a new creek boat!"

« Last Edit: May 14, 2018, 09:56:49 AM by pmmpete »


Tinker

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Kevin
  • Location: 42.74°N 124.5°W
  • Date Registered: May 2013
  • Posts: 3304
I have an OK Prowler T-13, too.  I'd take a peek at the seal/gasket on the front hatch.  I didn't have a leak because I caught this in time, but where the ends of the gasket meet had separated a wee bit and it would have leaked more than a little.  Some gentle tugging and contact cement worked.

On my newer T-11, the rubber gasket (washer) on the drain plug had fallen off when I accidentally pulled the entire plug out and I didn't see it happen.  Next time I used it, it leaked a bit, less than a cup, but it was the first time I'd ever seen water in the hull, so that's worth a look, too.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2018, 11:55:25 AM by Tinker »
I expected the worst, but it was worse than I expected...


Ling Banger

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Lincoln Beach, OR
  • Date Registered: Feb 2010
  • Posts: 2588
I cleaned the inside of the hatch really well with alcohol and ran a strip of adhesive backed weather stripping. It cut way down on how much water got in.

My Kraken has a neoprene cover under the plastic hatch and it stays good and dry. I'm surprised OK hasn't gone that route.




"We're going to go fishing
And that's all there is to it." - R.P. McMurphy


Ek-Balam

  • Krill
  • *
  • Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
  • Date Registered: Jul 2015
  • Posts: 11
Not to be too daft, but, could this small amount be due to simple condensation? It might not take but a few times opening and closing a hatch to introduce more and more humidified air to the a water chilled haul...


Ling Banger

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Lincoln Beach, OR
  • Date Registered: Feb 2010
  • Posts: 2588
Not to be too daft, but, could this small amount be due to simple condensation? It might not take but a few times opening and closing a hatch to introduce more and more humidified air to the a water chilled haul...

Most people don't shimmy up that far to open the front hatch while underway on a Trident. T-13 hatches most certainly have some seepage if you are taking chop over the bow or after a huli. I've owned 2 Tridents in the past and they both did it. It was never a dangerous amount of water, but enough to be an annoyance.

Most kayaks will take on some slight seepage in choppy conditions. Whether it is from the through-hull fittings for rudder controls, or twist lock style hatches, or from around the hardware that aren't inserts into the mould. Anything you really don't want getting wet that is stowed below deck should be in a dry bag or box. It just gets annoying when you get enough water where a rod you never pulled out during the day is dripping saltwater when you get back to the beach/ramp.

Try some weather stripping and get it to squish to the gasket material on the Tridents or BGPs. It's a cheap and easy mod that will get good results.




"We're going to go fishing
And that's all there is to it." - R.P. McMurphy


no_oil_needed

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Lake Washington
  • Date Registered: May 2013
  • Posts: 256
Fill your kayak up with water and check for wet spots.
Relax. You'll live longer.


 

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