pdxfisher wrote:
Thanks NC, I am stoked. I plan on taking it out on Friday or Saturday.
Thanks Roger! That helps a lot. I was looking at weather seal strips at Home Depot, but getting one for a car makes more sense. I am not sure when the kit will arrive since the dealer said they had not received any yet. Also, I plan on first taking a hose to the kayak to see if I think it is necessary to apply a stopgap until the kit arrives. From what I have read, some kayaks seal just fine without the gasket.
I am one of the fortunate ones that have not had the issue. I've had mine out on various lakes for about 60 hours now since late September and the most I've seen in my kayak was a few drops. I even took it on a 2 day camping trip where the first day was rain for 4-6 hours, had it on the water that day for thr 2 hours it stopped raining and in windy conditions with water coming over the bow consistently. I always had an escape plan because I knew of the potential issue and regularly checked in the hull through the hatch to make sure I wasn't taking on water. Even under those conditions at the end of that day I didn't even have enough water in the hull to drain it.
I regularly check just to be safe, especially under rough conditions and have not yet had any issues (knocks on wood).