Water Leaks

Way to go Rnyk,
You nailed it. After seeing your last post, I went out and checked the mast tube on my Outback. It turns out there are two points that could leak. After shining a bright LED flashlight into the mast hole, I was surprised to find that there is a large Phillips-type machine screw at the bottom securing the aluminum mast tube to the bottom of the hull.

I poured about 1/8 cup of water into the mast tube (keeping the water level well below the two rivets at the top of the tube), but no leaks thru the bottom screw after 30 minutes. I then added more water, so that the water level covered the rivets at the top. Bingo-within about 30 seconds, water began oozing out from around the rivets and running down the mast tube into the hull!

I then crawled into the forward hatch (WOW-that sure is a tight fit!) to get the pic below. The pic clearly shows the water oozing out from around the rivet holes and running down the outside of the mast tube into the hull.

Sooo-bottom line is, as you suggest, when not sailing plug your mast tube with a rubber stopper or cork of some sort. But make certain you can pull it out easily-it would be tough to remove if it got wedged down in the tube.

So that should solve at least one leak source. Looking down the road, perhaps Hobie can come up with a plastic sleeve or insert of some sort that will fit inside the mast hole to solve this problem. I'm going to try to coat the inside of the tube where the rivets are located with some silicone to see if that might help, But, of course each time you sail, the silicone would get worn away, requiring a new application-but no big ting-so long as I remember to do it…

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Rough water seems to be my culprit also. The rear hatch was the leaker on mine. A little silicone and it no longer is a problem. The idea of a rubber plug at the sail mast sounds like a good idea while not in use.

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3/4 of the planet is covered in water. Doesn't this tell you something?

Guess what folks? Hobie must be listening to someone since I just heard that the 2005 Outbacks now come complete with a tethered rubber stopper for the mast hole!

Actually I have been wondering if the rivets are even necessary. That is a mighty big machine screw at the bottom of the mast tube, and I wonder if that alone might not be sufficient. Or maybe a rubber/plastic sleeve around the upper part of the tube to wedge it in place might work without the need for rivets.

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Where did you hear this? If Hobie knew about the problem to begin with, someone might have alerted the dealers and answered posts on this forum. They could have said, "Try putting a rubber stopper in the mast tube," to fix your leak.

I was out pedaling today and while not playing in the waves, there were a few nice boat wakes that served as warp drives to double the speed of the kayak. Yeeha! Plus it rained, and rained, so water was definitely trickling down by the mast hole, that was now capped by a rubber stopper. Opened up a hatch after finishing the trip, and there was only a tablespoon full of water, which could have been left over from my testing yesterday. The stopper appears to have fixed my leak. (I already had siliconed around the outside of the tube.) The real test will come when I do some off shore pedaling.

Thanks. Never would have found the problem if it hadn't been for Sunjammer's suggestion.

Good point regarding the mast tube. I was out on San Diego Bay today and took a few wakes over the bow. The tube filled with water then drained down a bit. I'll be picking up a rubber plug muy pronto!

Thanks again to Rynkster for the solution to the mast hole leak problem. The pic shows the Hobie mast hole plugged with a 7/8" Lowe's rubber stopper (98 cents) attached to a Weller stranded SS leader wire with a couple of Berkeley stainless sleeves. You can get these stoppers in any color you wish, so long as it is white. Don't know about you but a white rubber stopper next to a black hatch on a fishing yak somehow seems too--what?--domestic for my tastes. But a black Marks-a-Lot solved that problem pronto. I happened to have a bunch of SS leader wire around from my offshore grouper, amberjack and shark fishing days, but good old mono, or braided, or paracord, or any light nylon cord would work just as well.

If you have leaks between the mast tube and hull (as some have reported on another forum), seems like a little bead of silicone in the depression around the mast tube might take care of that problem.

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xx

New mast tube cap is also including a new plastic rather than aluminum tube. We certainly would have informed people if we thought there was a leak issue with the rivets. I didn't actually consider that. The cap was more of a cosmetic addition. This was not meant as a leak fix, even though it looks like that is also a good reason for one.

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

Hey Matt,
Yeah--I've been hearing about leaks thru the mast tube rivet holes for the past year or so, but never paid much attention since I figured there couldn't be that much water getting into the hull thru these tiny openings.

WRONG! As soon as I ran my tests, I was kind of shocked at how quickly the water started entering the hull, and how much water was coming in, albeit drop by drop. Here is another pic after several minutes of leaks. Even after that little amount of time, the water was pretty much a constant drop by drop stream. Wouldn't take long to add a lot of water inside the hull if you were caught out in a thunderstorm (as I have been), of if you are playing in the surf, or if you hit a couple of good sized wakes from powerboats and were taking water over the bow on a consistent basis. Or if you store your boat cockpit up (as I have also done), but quickly learned to store it cockpit down after the first thnderstorm passed thru. I may still have some hatch leaks, but at least I now know that a good part of my leak problem was thru the mast tube.

Hope your new mods solve the problem.
Best,
Dick

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Happy to report that the mast tube plug has cured my water leak problems. YeeHaa!

Hello,

I have an outback mirage with a leak in the drive trunk. The plastic has a vertical split just where the forward edge of the drive rests on the trunk step. There is an indention in the area corresponding with the shape of the drive. It looks as though the drive punctured the hull.

This was a significant leak! I am sitting in water paddling down a remote river thinking about how much water this boat is shipping. I had bailed gallons of water on the previous 2 - 3 outings and bailed dry just the previous hour. I thought "this is not normal."

I bailed the boat. Tip. Open the hull drain and flip the boat upside down. Most of the water will drain. Whilst draining, I examined the hull. I put the boat back in water and noted immediate leaking. Pulled the drive and there was the hole. Three pieces of gum and a little ice water to harden the patch and it is back to the river. The gum worked for most of remaining trip.

Hopefully my dealer and Hobie folks can remedy this problem. The drive trunk would be subject to stresses no normal kayak would ever experience. This may require reinforcement.

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Keith
Outback

Been out a dozen more times since posting this message. I still get water in the hull, but now it only takes two, three at most, wipes using a standard sponge to remove it - one to two cups of water. I can't believe I put up with the leak problem for over a year, to the point of curtailing destinations and trips, before seeking a solution. This is going to be a fun summer because I can now spend hours in the open water chop without having to stop to pump out water. It is like having a new kayak!

Unfortunaty this one is not repairable. You should do a warranty request for a new hull. Contact your dealer. This issue has been corrected and was determined to be a production process issue.

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

Hobie all;

I have been told that my new hull has been shipped. Once it arrives, the dealer will transfer hardware from the old boat and awaaaaay we go. Hopefully I can help and learn about setting up the boat. I am going to take a tube of sealent along to bed hatches etc. I will also incorporate the other ideas gleaned from all of you generous posters, particulary the port side carry handle.

I have to comment that there has been excellent service and support on the part of everyone at Hobie and my dealer.

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Keith
Outback