2015 Outbacks leaking from the front hatch

Well.....I contacted my dealer. Used blue grease to identify the areas of the hatch that did not make contact. It only makes contact at about 25% of the circumference. Took it to the dealer for them to see. Sent pics, etc. Im told that Hobie is saying," too bad , that's the way they are, they are not made to be water proof." Not acceptable.

Not what we would be saying. This is fixable... The flange can be trimmed and the hold down straps are adjustable.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

would you like me to forward the email from my dealer?

Yes, please do... that is not the appropriate answer.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Hi there,

I'm from Melbourne, Australia and recently purchased a 2015 Outback.

After reading this thread I'm a little concerned, has Hobie identified this and is there a fix?

I just want to know before I contact my dealer about it. I'd like to know that in the event I of a potential capsize there would be very minimal to no water intake into the hull.

Cheers

Im told they are looking into it...not all have the issue. You can grease the top of the rubber seal and close the lid to see where yours makes contact. You can also roll it over in the water and wait about one minute to see how much gets in if any.

The trimlock from the Pro Anglers might help - this is a thicker taller seal, you can try getting some of that seal (part # 71305001) we've tested this on Outbacks here and it seems to work better. Engineers are working to come up with a better trim package and working with our vendors who sell the trimlock materials. So far we don't have the complete solution, but if you'd like to give the Pro Angler part a try it's pretty simple to do so.

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

from a previous post in this thread

"It seems simple to solve to me...if the seal were made taller it would then seal against the plastic lid...but that would not work for the bucket when installed...it would need a lip for the bucket to tuck into so that it would leave rubber above it to seal to the lid....or, the seal could be made wider so that it seals against the outer edge of the plastic lid where it rolls over...seems sooo easy, wonder why they have not done it??"



sealing against the outer edge would solve all the issues as far as I can tell, to include the bucket not sealing that Hobie sells for this model.

Jbernier, can you send me this Trimlock as part of a warranty fix?

We are pressing engineering on this issue. They have tried larger seals in the past, but fit was an issue. Larger... did not fit and prevented some hatches from sealing. This may have been on other models like the Adventure Island, so we are asking them to look again at all models.

In the factory they have fixed some trim tooling and further trained assembly staff...

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Contact your dealer and have them get it for you directly - it's just 5ft of trimlock from a PA. (part # info provided in my previous post)

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

thx

Thanks for looking into this.. I have a liner as well and launch through big surf and always have water in the liner after I clear the zone. Didn't happen on my older outback.. I deal with Andy at OEX who is excellent and will have him contact you guys about a fix along with another issue I'm having.









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There isn't a way to keep water from getting into the hatch liner - this is only related to sealing the hatch without liners - once you add a liner it can take some water the way you've described since there's no seal above the liner between the hatch - that's not something we're looking into at the moment.

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

That's odd, so in order for me to keep water from getting inside the kayak I should not use the hatch liner made for the outback? And there is no solution for this other than not using the liner?

Just want to make sure understanding you correctly.


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