So reading through a few posts I gather this is actually fairly normal. Took my (new) Zephyr 155 out today for two hours on the water. Neoprene spray skirt on, all my hatch covers secure. Came home and I had a small amount of water in the cockpit. You could sop it all up with one wipe of a sponge so it’s not enough to worry me by any stretch, but I’m curious where the ingress is. The only real possibilities would be through the skeg area, though my rear hatch seems to be dry; through footbrace mouning holes, or seeping in through the spray skirt.
Is it just a combination of these? I guess the answer could be different for every boat so I’m not really expecting a definite answer, but I’m curious whether there’s something I could apply to the mounting holes to watertight them further if that’s the culprit, etc.
Your feet
Unless you somehow manage to get in without getting your feet wet, you’ll always drag a bit of water in with your footwear.
Good point! Though I launch from a dock.
Fair point, though I launch from a dock and didn’t get out at any point so that would be a no-go. Didn’t think about that though, so I’ll expect that once I start taking trips where I do exit the boat.
Condensation
Especially with Neoprene and in body temp just like a glass will get wet and it’s not leaking… What was the air/water temp.
To me
that is an entirely normal amount of water, maybe better than average. Skirts are going to leak. After several hours with the coaming underwater due to edging and other stunts, some water is going to get in.
Deck to tunnel
seam - I have a neoprene deck & nylon tunnel. If I don’t start with the tunnel high - like almost to my armpits - some of the puddles will drip through.
If yr worried about leaking screws and
bulkheads fill your cockpit with water and see if it leaks out.
You can angle your boat to test certain spots without completely filling it up.
goop the footbrace bolts?
I’ve had occasional leak problems with footbrace bolts on new boats. I loosen the bolts, squirt in some goop, re-tighten them, no more leaks.
Kayak stored inside or out?
If outside, did it rain recently?
Even though I use a cockpit cover, store my boat hull up on my dock, and it’s covered with a Sunbrella type fabric for UV protection, after a rainstorm some water can seep in. Sometimes it’s not much and I don’t notice it at first and sometimes it’s a few sponge-fulls and very noticeable. Depends on the rainfall and wind direction.
The same water event happens with another kayak stored on the beach with the hull resting on supports and a cockpit cover on.