inside when paddling in rough seas. Any ideas as to where the water is coming in? I wear a spray skirt and the water is mostly in the front or back areas not the seat area. Could the neoprene hatch covers be leaking and if so are there replacement covers that will correct this? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks
To find the leak
Put your boat on a couple of saw horse. Add a good amount of water in your cockpit area and storage holds. Put the boat on its sides and look for leaks. If you have bulkheads turn the boat upsidedown and look for leaks from your hatches. .
my geuss is the hatches
The holes for the front grab loop
The holes go right through the hull. At least in my Cape Horn 15 they did, and that was the main place resposible for a bad leak. When I filled it in with Shoe Goop, it took care of the worst of the problem.
check the points where fasteners
(screws and bolts) go through the hull—my first sea kayak, a perception vizcaya, took on lots of water the first year I paddled it until someone pointed out to me that it was all comming in though one of the screwholes. I put a rubber washer over the screw and had no problems after that.
In this thread…
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=908877
We talk about polyurethane caulk for bulkheads and scratch repair.
I had the same issue with my forward storage taking on water. Seems that one of the lash points for deck rigging had a small hole through the hull.
Sealed it with polyurethane caulk.
Found the hole by pushing down on the sealed rubber hatch cover and listening for the sound of escaping air. Easier and neater than “filling her up” with water.
Hope this helps,
Rob
soapy water…
Good comment… also, splash on some soapy water. That will make bubbles and they’re easier to spot that trying to listen for air escaping.
Thanks
Thanks guys