Fixing the hobie seat easily!

So I have battled with my seat in the outback pretty much since new. This last weekend it just would not stay put. Finally I thought to put some beach sand in the holes. Actually little pebbles just larger than sand and they were flat. I made them stick against the sides (using water)of the holes and Instantly I felt the pegs lock into place! Worked like a champ.

Next I need to figure out how to get the center hatch to close without having to pound it in place

That used to drive me crazy until i goit those aftermarket  tightening pegs.Then i got an nice comfy seat that doesn't use the pegs at all.  Alot more expensive then sand though !

You need a new hatch ring gasket. and keep it lightly lubed with silicone grease

The third gen Hobie seat plug system, 1/4 turn, works really good. I upgraded my 2010 Revo & no problems anymore. Use a hair dryer to heat up the holes from inside the hull while screwing in the black plugs.

One weird trick I do on my 8" hatches is to remove the pin that secures the handle & file down the surface of the handle that touches the top of the hatch while your twisting it to open the hatch. You only need to file down about 1ml. Part of the binding you feel when opening or closing the hatch is this handle binding on the hatch top. I do this & keep my o-ring clean & lubed with Armor-all for no problems.

One weird trick I do on my 8" hatches is to remove the pin that secures the handle & file down the surface of the handle that touches the top of the hatch while your twisting it to open the hatch. You only need to file down about 1ml. Part of the binding you feel when opening or closing the hatch is this handle binding on the hatch top. I do this & keep my o-ring clean & lubed with Armor-all for no problems.

I'm intrigued. I have the same problem on my 2011 Outback. Do you have some photos of the part of the hatch cover you filed?

Pull off the hatch gasket.  Wipe it down, clean out the cover channel, and clean off all the surfaces of the hatch lid and the hatch frame.  Replace the gasket.  With a finger or two apply the lightest coat of silicone grease you can to the outside surface of the gasket and the frame surface.  Repeat as needed.

By lightest coat, really, I mean the lightest coat you can.  If light enough you will not be able to see any grease, just a darker, more shiny plastic.

Similar to demonick, if I get any sand in my hatch seal rings or salt buildup, I spray them off with the garden hose, dry them, then apply McNett silicone spray or WD40 Silicone spray, let it sit a few minutes, then wipe away excess.

Sorry I don't have any pics. What I found was that sometimes even after thoroughly cleaning & lubing the hatch o-ring & surrounding plastic surfaces that the hatch was still hard to close. But it wasn't binding on the o-ring. It was binding on the plastic between the hatch lever & the hatch. Try twisting your hatch lever back & forth with the hatch open & see if you feel any binding. If you can feel it binding with the hatch open I promise you it's only worse with more pressure on it as you're closing the hatch. I thought it was just the one hatch, on my Revo, but then I experienced the same issue on my new Adventure. Luckily this is super easy to take care of & when you do your hatch will open & close with very little effort.

I also switched back to Armor All after using the silicone grease for a year. The grease picks up & holds sand & dirt too much.