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Water leakage thru the Hobie hatches....

Yesterday I hardly had any water in the kayak and still at times there were about 10cm (4") of water over the front hatch. I figured this would happen so before I set of for the test run I prepared the hatches. I cleaned the grooves and put new silicone grease on the rubberrings and assured there were in the right position.

Today I see again that the rubberrings allready has rotated and are twirled. Unfortunately Hobie has made the groove in the hatches a little to wide and this lets the rubberrings to slip and rotate. (Shape up Hobie!)
.
Too cure this problem I will try this fix.
I put a small amount of Sikaflex in the grooves of the hatch to stabilize the rubberrings. Put on the Sikaflex with a small tops and tried to keep it tidy. I carefully smeared the thin layer of Sikaflex as evenly as possible and wiped off the excess från the edges of the hatch before reinserting the rubberrings.

I hope that the Sikaflex will keep the rubberring in place in the right position.
Then I put silicone grease on the edge of the hatch as usual.

I will report back if this was a succes (or maybe a total failiure).
It sure would be good to know that you can rely on the hatches not leaking.
/Gustav

Author:	fourtogo [ Mon Aug 14, 2017 9:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Rear Hatch
Hi to all the rear hatch and seal . Is there no other remedy for the V-Shaped Seal rolling over . Every time you open it , I am contemplating putting in the West Marine screw in style rear hatch . I can't reach it while on the water / storage is minimal . And leaking water is not a plus in a Kayak . What has anyone come up with for this issue .

Author:	fourtogo [ Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:05 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
No body has experience with this ?

Author:	Husse0416 [ Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
I just posted this on my TI3 build blog. https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=61162 This might work but I still have to test the result. Hope it might help you. All the best! /Gustav Husse0416 wrote: Water leakage thru the Hobie hatches.... Yesterday I hardly had any water in the kayak and still at times there were about 10cm (4") of water over the front hatch. I figured this would happen so before I set of for the test run I prepared the hatches. I cleaned the grooves and put new silicone grease on the rubberrings and assured there were in the right position. Today I see again that the rubberrings allready has rotated and are twirled. Unfortunately Hobie has made the groove in the hatches a little to wide and this lets the rubberrings to slip and rotate. (Shape up Hobie!) . Too cure this problem I will try this fix. I put a small amount of Sikaflex in the grooves of the hatch to stabilize the rubberrings. Put on the Sikaflex with a small tops and tried to keep it tidy. I carefully smeared the thin layer of Sikaflex as evenly as possible and wiped off the excess från the edges of the hatch before reinserting the rubberrings. I hope that the Sikaflex will keep the rubberring in place in the right position. Then I put silicone grease on the edge of the hatch as usual. I will report back if this was a succes (or maybe a total failiure). It sure would be good to know that you can rely on the hatches not leaking. /Gustav EDIT Degrease the grove in the hatch and the rubber ring before applying Sikaflex! (I used etanol)

Author:	WAVERIDER [ Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
rubber can stretch over time so that it rotates more easily. Either get new seals or you can cut it with a sharp knife, remove a short section, reglue butt ends with supaglue, I also put a short section of shrink tube over the join. This tightens it up. When in use clean seal and hull lip regularly, and spray with silicone lube will reduce force need to close hatch and thus reduce tendency to twist

Author:	pmmpete [ Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:59 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
fourtogo wrote: No body has experience with this ? Everybody has problems with Hobie's asymmetrical gaskets twisting, which causes the hatch to stick and jam partly open. It's a constant source of frustration. See https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... lit=gasket . Hobie should quit using the asymmetrical gaskets, and should use round O-ring gaskets like everybody else. For example, back in the days before digital cameras I had a Nikonos V underwater camera which had round O-ring gaskets on its back and on other openings. Nikonos used this system for decades, and it was totally reliable at significant water depths. Hobie ought to be able to design a hatch which uses round O-rings and which doesn't jam.

Hobie Forums http://www.hobie.com/forums/

Rear Hatch http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=61311	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Husse0416 [ Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:31 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
I can report that after carefully "gluing" the rubberrings with Sikaflex (see my previous post) I have had no/nill/nada/zilch leakage thru the hatches. The TI is bone dry after this fix. I have flushed the hatches hard with the garden hoose and it really seems to work. I have opened and closed the hatches about 50 times now. The rubber rings now keep the right position all the time and I dont have to check them. Bare in mind I dont know for how long this fix will hold but Sikaflex usually sticks on very well. (Before I applied it I carefully degrased the groove in the hatch and also the rubber ring with pure etanol) Hope this helps. All the best! /Gustav

Author:	fourtogo [ Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
What is stikaflex

Author:	WAVERIDER [ Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rear Hatch
fourtogo wrote: What is stikaflex sikaflex

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