How much is too much? Water in my kayak.

I have an adventure. I usely go out for 4-5 hours at a time. I always
get close to a quart to a half gallon of water in my hull. I know from
having an outback that these kayaks are not dry on the inside. What
I'd like to know is how much water is too much? Even with dry bags its
hard to keep things you'd like to keep dry from getting wet.

Depends on the conditions. Flat water? Very little. Waves... maybe more. There are a few places water can seep in. Hatches, rudder control tubes, some hull fittings. You can pressure test the hull and use soapy water to find where it might leak.

There is a tech piece I wrote in the FAQ section:

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=1949

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

Mine takes on a fair amount of water as well (on a relatively flat inland lake) but I understand some water is to be expected. When I get around to it i will do the pressure test as recommended by Matt but in the mean time I carry a sponge in the center hatch and it soaks up a fair amount - according to a kayak fishing video I saw a sponge is a good safety item to carry no matter what!!

I would have to say if you are in flat water for any length of time you should find zero amount of water inside the yak. Now if you are out in a chop with waves covering the deck or cockpit area then I would expect a small amount of water, less than a gallon. Any more and you need to investigate.

Paul

I have to agree that you should expect very little water if any on a flat lake...well after a few hours out today I was surprised how much water it took on. The only chop on the lake was for about 10 mins when I did a bit of "surfing" on the wake of a boat...which was great fun and as an aside the BigA does ride small waves well. Anyway, I did have a cooler stowed in the rear but it wasnt all that heavy to push the rear into the water and had it beached for about 45 minutes with the tail in the water (but certainly not submerged). I suspect that the major point of leakage is the rear holes for the rudder control lines (well I hope so at least). Looks like its time to do the pressure test.

By the way I am still struggling to get the rudder lifting mnechanism working at all and patirntly awaiting Hobies tuning instructions!!!

Rudder instructions:

I read a proof of the procedure in replacing the bungee on Wednesday. The engineers are working on it. They feel strongly that replacing the bungee loop is the best, but many people have no problem as is. In the mean time, checking the drum tension, Lubricating the line holes, loosening the control lines all seem to help.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=2921

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

Matt

I know I have been a pain in the @#$ since I got my Adventure what with my rudder and steering mechanism complaints but I have discovered a further far more serious problem with it. The last week it has been taking on alot of water on a flat inland lake - I took it out this afternoon for exactly 1 hour to measure how much water it took on and I was shocked. Unfortunately I couldnt lift it to get it on my car to bring home to measure the water because of the weight of the water so had to drain it and I would guess there was 3-4 buckets full at least.

When I got home I put a few inches of water into the hull and discovered a rapid leak at the very front of the Mirage drive well. There appears to be 2 small cracks running front to back on top of the small 'shelf' at the front of the drivewell. I have taken a small .avi movie to show you and couple of pics and have forwarded them via email.

This looks like the Outback crack problem all over again...enough to make a grown man cry!!

Well cracks? I am really sorry to hear that. The hull needs to be replaced. In the mean time, others have been able to fill the inside area under the cracks with hot melt glue or agressive sealant to stop any leaks so you can use it until the replacement hull gets to you.

Contact your dealer for assistance in getting the replacement process going.

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

Dear Booligal,

Your first point of contact for any issue in regards to Hobie product should be from the dealer you purchased the goods from. The Aus dealer can advise the manufacture Hobie Aus which is part of Hobie Co USA of any issues. The Aus dealer can provide you a warranty claim form and once we receive the signed warranty request form, then we can proceed with the claim. This process usually takes less than 24 hours to review a claim.

Kind Regards,
Steve Fields
Managing Director
Hobie Cat Company - Australasia PL

Thanks Steve, I have filled in a warranty claim form this morning and have sent the pics and movie to the dealer for forwarding on to you. I hope we can resolve it quickly as you suggest.

While I dont feel great about posting negative comments on what is generally a great product I must say that these forums are invaluable for the user community and we all appreciate the attention Matt gives to the forum!!

Regards
Mark

....and my apologies to amsurferoceanbeach...I seem to have stolen your thread here

My replacement hull arrived today and I would like to thank Matt from Hobie USA, Steve from Hobie Australia and Gus from Great Outdoors in Canberra for helping sort it out. The test of a supplier is not that manufacturing problems occurr but how they react to the inevitable problems and I must say that Hobie can hold their head high!!!

I am aware that number of people here in Canberra have been holding off buying pending the outcome of my problems - all I can say is go for it guys you wont be dissappointed. Its a great product with terrific support.

Now back to the water....yipeeeee

Cheers
Mark