I was out practicing rolling last night and got a cup or two of water in each of the 3 compartments in my boat. My boat has Kajak Sport covers which I heard are supposed to be pretty good. Do most boats leak?
Nope
The only time I found water in my back hatch I didn’t close it properly.
I paddle a Nordkapp.
Leak
No, what kind of kayak do you have? I have a first year Sirocco and the bulkheads leaked, so any water in the cockpit got into the hatch areas.
Seems that way
I think a good many do, no matter what type of hatch cover
Brian
nope
NDK Explorer w/valley day hatch
not all, but many - - -
no leaks in my NDK Explorer or P&H Serius. my VCP Pintail was bone dry for many years but the front hatch started to leak this spring. composite boats suffer very few leaks while plastic boats seem to leak more often than not. it’s usually about the hatch rim … hard to seal a rubber hatch to a molded plastic rim. Kajak hatches “shouldn’t” leak since they’re similar to the NDK type but stuff happens.
good luck finding the source of the leak … i’m still searching for the leak in my pintail with no luck.
I have a plastic Cappela. It is
a great boat. Handles really well. I did a great deal of rolling and a couple of wet exits last night so I guess I am asking alot for it to be totally dry. Usually only get a couple of tablespoons in the rear compartment. Figured it was getting in via the skeg.
bingo
the vcp hatches on my CHatham day hatch leaked,re-installed the rim with 1/16" neoprene instead of the goop sealant it was installed with,now it’s dry. The oval hatches were dry but now they leak,will do the same and see what happens.
The definitive answer is,some more than others.
No leaks
In my RM Tempest 170. When I got it it did get water into the day hatch when I was practicing re-entries. Turns out that the hole in the bulkhead to let the skeg cable housing go through was rather larger than it needed to be and there was no sealer around it. I stuck some sho goo on/around the hole and now it stays dry. I only use the shock cords around the rear oval hatch.
db
Goop Sealant
I had that problem on one hatch rim of a Boreal boat. I took it to a boat repair shop (at Boreal’s insistence) and the repairman removed the hatch rim, cleaned off the sealant, and replaced the sealant. Didn’t work at all. So I removed the rim again, cleaned it thoroughly, and seated it with epoxy resin. Never leaked after that.
glass boat?
the problem with liquid sealants and plastic is that once the sealant cures it can eventually pull away from the polyethelene. With an actual gasket material it fills the gaps between the screws. Maybe marine goop will work but I’m going to use what worked on the day hatch.
Yep.
leaks
I own two CD Squall`s and the both leaked after one year. After talking to CD they sent me new bulkheads and materials to do the repairs with. They were very good and no question asked so maybe this is a common problem. All and all I love CD and my Squall for a plastic boat I am not complaining.
NC Kayaks; Beckson Hatch
NC Kayaks have 8 and 10 inch Beckson hatches that are outstanding. Literally, never had a drop of water get through the hatch on that boat.
Will Verify that the NC hatches don’t
leak. Neither of our two NC 17LT hatches leak.
no leaks
in 4 yr old NDK, not a drop. Rear compartment leaked slightly but was fixed when I tightened the screws on the 2 hose clamps sealing the skeg rope tube.
Nope
I have a seven year old Eclipse, and a seven year old Shadow, that have been in heavy surf, upside down, etc, etc, and have never leaked a drop.
We have two new yaks, that cost twice as much, and the hatches leak like a sieve.
You go figure!
We will continue using our old ones for camping and just use the new ones for day trips.
Cheers,
JackL
Eclipse
is yours plastic or composite?,the ones I’ve used in instruction leak a few cups to quarts after a days worth of classes. I noticed that every year the type of neoprene hatch cover that came with the kayak changed.
Mine and also the Shadow,
are seven or eight years old.
They have the neoprene cover withe the rubber lip. Then a outer plastic cover.
Maybe they don’t leak because I use 303 on the rubber lip a few times a season.
But neither one has ever taken a drop which means a lot to a hard core yak camper.
Cheers,
JackL