Bought a Lifetime Pro Angler SOT and I love it for my dog and myself. She has plenty of room. Last time out we sank and had to be plucked out by a pontoon boat. The scupper hole was leaking. This was only about the 6th time out. The mfg will send a new one and pick this one up to dispose of it. My question is: This seems like a common thing. So do I fix it myself somehow and keep the yak or take the replacement and hope it doesn’t happen again and just be prepared for the next time it happens when I’m in the middle of a 130’ lake with my dog that wants to perch on my head when we sink?
I’ve heard of it a few times and had a friend with a leaky one. I’d take the new one.
I’ve had a half dozen SOT and none have had the issue but none were cheap boats.
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Definitely take the new one.
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This happened about 12 years ago to me on a WS Tarpon that I bought used. There was a pinhole leak that always allowed a gallon or two into the hull. It took a while for me to find the pinhole, but was very easy to resolve the issue. The hull void stayed dry until I resold it about 3 years later.
Since you bought yours new, let the manufacturer replace it.
Thought about taking the new one and reinforcing the scupper seams from the inside with Flex Tape right away to try to head it off from the start.
Also thought about packing the “tunnel hull” with several large pool noodles to give it buoyancy and take up some water displacement space.
Not sure I would flex tape, but definitely go ahead any add flotation to any boat in areas where you don;t need the space. Pool noodles in the hull is a good idea.
The scuppers can be a weak area and should be treated gently.
Sometimes wheels are plugged into them… Climbing in boat on land can do harm as can overtightening straps…
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on a Lifetime, I would definitely be careful with the seams in general, but definitely in the scuppers. I wouldn’t use the wheels that have the posts that go through them. Not to say it cannot happen on a more expensive boat as I had and Ocean Kayak that constantly leaked in the scuppers, but you can at least plastic weld them. I keep a small JB Weld 5 Minute epoxy in my repair bag just in case.
Thanks for the replies. I decided to keep the yak and re-engineer the scuppers. A new one would have been nice but I trust my repair job more than a new one. I wouldn’t have any idea when one of the seams would fail and I would just be fixing it again. So now my question is I am newbie and I’ve fallen in love with kayaking. I would love to do the Great Lakes eventually but my skill and comfort level is not there yet. Right now it’s just inland lakes but I go solo. Is it still useful to have a PLB or EPIRB on an inland lake? I plan to pick up VHF radio as soon as I can afford it. What is a good safety kit to have for inland lakes while solo?