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New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=68315		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  tylero68 [ Sun May 09, 2021 7:48 pm ]
Post subject:  New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
I bought a brand new 2021 Hobie Compass 2 weeks ago and I took it out for it's maiden voyage today, and so far I am not pleased. To provide a little bit of background, I bought a new 2019 Outback in the fall of 2019 and have been content with my experience so far. I was buying the Compass as an extra pedal drive kayak for friends and family to use. I drove 4 hours away to pick it up since kayaks are generally hard to find nowadays, which isn't a big deal at all.

Upon initial inspection, the scupper holes, scupper hole inserts, and area around the drive look super rough. I have pictures of the scuppers and I will try to link some below. To me, for a "premium" product, these kinds of flaws are simply unacceptable and they are not present on my Outback. However, I assumed they are just superficial so I thought I could get over it.

I have made the square hatch mod and moved the circle hatch up front. When I removed the original circle hatch, the gasket was folded up on itself and not laid flat around the hatch. Again, not a huge deal but these kinds of things should not be found on a "premium" product.

The real kicker though, when I took it out today my trip was cut short by an apparent leak somewhere. It was about 10 minutes in when I opened the hatch and noticed a decent amount of water starting to accumulate in the bottom of the boat. My outback has always "leaked a little", but never enough to cause concern on a 6-8 hour fishing day. For all I know, the accumulation of fluid in the outback could be condensation or something from the inside of the hull. But back to the Compass, the water was collecting in such a manner that I immediately turned around and went back to the launch to take her out. By the time I got there (~20 minute trip total) there was about an inch of water in the bottom the hull. I ensured the plug was snug and the water that was I was on was calm so its not like water was coming up inside the cockpit. This leads me to believe I have a leak in the hull somewhere. Have there been any known problems with these particular hulls? Since I am obviously still well within warranty, will any hobie dealer handle this or do I need to go to original place of purchase? I would hope if Hobie stands by their product any dealer should handle warranty issues?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K1ES7PCotWNMngrg7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YZgRgnfYFnZF6eV98
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v9YiADXdFnhL8v4A9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bPFYrRjam9TqWdTg6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/j5Nv4ejhcQo4J7vZ7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WfA2VKxXEjDbf5RV7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xAAsAgddyKekYruC9
Author:  mmiller [ Thu May 13, 2021 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Take it to a dealer for warranty review. Dealers should service all products as part of their sales agreement with us.

The scuppers do get trimmed by hand. The gasket looks unfortunate. Not sure the function was disabled.

The dealer should perform a soapy water, air pressure in the hull, bubble test to determine the location of the leak.
Author:  Sabiki this [ Mon May 24, 2021 6:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
I just picked up my new 2021 Compass and the scupper holes were ruff cut like your picture, It seems that using the scupper cart would put additional pressure on the area that I've taken it out once so far, but I'll have to check to see if it leaks! Thanks for the post, it might have helped me out!
Author:  mmiller [ Tue May 25, 2021 10:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Scuppers are threaded in, so leave some exposed thread imprints. Non-issue for the function.
Author:  tylero68 [ Tue May 25, 2021 10:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Sabiki this wrote:
I just picked up my new 2021 Compass and the scupper holes were ruff cut like your picture, It seems that using the scupper cart would put additional pressure on the area that I've taken it out once so far, but I'll have to check to see if it leaks! Thanks for the post, it might have helped me out!


Sorry I haven't responded to this. Summary of issue and resolution of this issue below:

Root Cause - I performed a pressure test on the hull and it was determined that the drive well and scupper hole defects were not the cause of the leak. The cause of the leak was pinpointed to be faulty installation of the aft nut insert for the replaceable keel. The aesthetic issues with the scupper drain holes and drive well do not effect the function of the kayak.

Corrective Action - Hobie determined that the issue with the aft nut insert causing the leak warranted replacement of the hull, as they do not recommend such repairs below the waterline. I filed the claim with a local dealer and I should *hopefully* be receiving a new hull in the next couple of weeks.

Customer Service - Hobie, in general, has been very responsive to my complaints during this whole thing. Particularly, once I was put in contact with Matt (mmiller above) the process moved quickly. He was very accommodating taking phone calls after hours, and answering e-mails over the weekend.

Aesthetic Issues - While the scupper drain holes are not aesthetically pleasing, they have no effect on the function of the kayak and something I could ultimately live with. The cosmetic damage around the drive well was also "only" an aesthetic issue, however a little more difficult for me to swallow. I hope the new hull is in much better condition than this one, and that this was just a bad example that slipped through the cracks. I realize that the hulls will not be perfect, but spending premium $$$$ for a premium product should get you a product that reflects that cost in craftsmanship.

I will post an update once I get the new hull and will report about it's condition as compared to this one, as well as how long it takes from claim to fulfillment. Overall, I understand *stuff* happens and I was most likely just unlucky here. A bit of a bummer I will miss out on weeks of peak fishing season, but such is life.
Author:  Sabiki this [ Tue May 25, 2021 8:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Thanks again, we are very fortunate that Hobie is a great company that always stands behind their products. However you are again correct when you say we as customers have an expectation of good craftsmanship. I’ve been through a couple hulls of Hobie kayaks myself. In the end, Hobie always came through and satisfied me with their customer service. So now i just bought another Hobie and I’m rasing another generation of faithful Hobie users.
Author:  Kovac50 [ Fri Jun 18, 2021 8:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Sabiki this wrote:
Thanks again, we are very fortunate that Hobie is a great company that always stands behind their products. However you are again correct when you say we as customers have an expectation of good craftsmanship. I’ve been through a couple hulls of Hobie kayaks myself. In the end, Hobie always came through and satisfied me with their customer service. So now i just bought another Hobie and I’m rasing another generation of faithful Hobie users.

Good for you......not so fortunate with support like "i am not in to salles" or " engineering department rarely comment on forum"......hobie releasses new boats while people waiting 10 months on their order.....the same with drives...... :oops:
Author:  tylero68 [ Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
Just picked up my replacement hull. Haven't had a chance to take it out and see if it's water tight yet. But I will say this and I'm not going to mince my words anymore. The quality that is reflected on the past two hobie hulls I have received is absolute (censored) compared to the outback I bought 2 years ago. The scupper drains on this one look exponentially worse than my original hull and the drive well looks nearly as bad as the first one. Maybe it wont leak like that first one, but the aesthetic quality is not acceptable for a premium product. I looked at another brand new hobie compass hull at the location I picked up my replacement hull from and it didn't look anything like mine (it was a different color, if that matters). So either you have a process deficiency that your engineers need to fix, a quality escape that your quality control isn't catching and I've just been the unlucky one twice in row (least likely), or management is driving the cutting of corners to save a buck at the cost of quality.

Also, regarding the aesthetic and how the hulls come, I was privy to an e-mail from a hobie employee that pretty much just said, "that's the way it is". That's pitiful.
Author:  mmiller [ Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2021 Hobie Compass Leak/Quality Control
All of the boats vary in some way. Not all Outbacks come out the same. Different molds will produce different abnormalities. I can't say for this specific issue, but with larger / new staff and high volumes... we appear to have some issues. Sorry about that. I can tell you that we have new factory management and new ownership this year that are very keen to do all of this right. It is not cost-cutting.
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