New Outfitter owner!

Hi all, I am a new owner of a Mirage Outfitter and have had two voyages on her so far, both went well. However I did notice water inside the hull(not a lot but, enough to hear swashing around when I flipped her over to store) after the 2nd cruise and was wondering a few things. 1) is this normal? 2) how to get that water out of hull of an outfitter 3) should I be worried! This is my first yak so I am excited about it and plan on using it for a bunch of saltwater fishing and want to keep it in great shape for many years to come. Any suggestions on rigging it or tricks for when I go off shore would be much appreciated! Planning to use around South Central Florida Gulf Coast.

By 'rights' you would think you should not get any water in the hull but most people find that it is normal to find a small amount of water in your hull after a trip. But by small, I mean small (less than a cupful).

The best way to get this out IME is to use a sponge.

Was your boat new or used?

If used there could be a crack in the hull. These tend to occur in the vicinity of the drive-well(s) and while not all that common can be serious (next to impossible to fix by all I have read). Even a tiny hairline crack can result in significant amounts of water getting into the hull as the crack will flex under the pedalling action and pump water into the hull.

If the hull was a shiney new one then a couple of possible sources of water in the hull are:
1. Ingress through the hatch seals and various other through-hull fittings from water splashing over the boat during your trip (or from rain if left outside & right ways up);
2. Ingress through the rudder cable ports at the rear of the boat; likely if you and your crew are big enough to settle the stern of the boat down in the water sufficiently.

Hope this helps and welcome to the forums!

I too am an new owner of the Outfitter, I have the MirageDrive and Rudder equipped on mine as well. I also found approximately 1 cup of water inside the hull after an short excursion.

However a quick trip to the Dollar Store to purchase a turkey baster solved the problem of removing that small bit of hard to get at water. Keep it within reach while on the water to remove water from the seat wells when water splashes in.

Tom

Congrats and welcome to the club.

We have two Outfitters and they have always leaked more water than I'd like. The biggest offender is the rudder lines since even in calm conditions they spend a lot of time under water. Add in wind and waves and this worsens. The other entry point seems to be the hatch in front of the rear seat. It is very important there is no dirt or sand around the seal or where it lands as this hatch can have water above it depending on conditions. And the hatch is not sufficiently rigid in my opinion.

With two on board and calm peddaling on a lake for 4 hours I'd say we get less than a cup and I just sop it up with a sponge. An all day rough weather pedal/sail in the ocean with two people and extra gear (weight) can result in a pint to a quart or more and we remove that by beaching and draining through the bow drain plug.

My Outfitters are several years old now and several changes have probably been made since then if my descriptions don't match yours. They have hundreds of happy miles under them, much of it in rough open water and almost always with the sail kits - they are not babied. No signs of any cracking or damage around the drive wells or rudder. Maybe it is just me but I just accept the leakage as "normal" and get on with it.

So unless you see something obviously wrong, just enjoy and sop/drain when required.

Peter

I just bought my Outfitter last month and I'm having the same problem - water going inside the hull. The comments are really helpful where I can check how and where water is coming in the hull. How do you drain the water thru the front plug?

I just get my new 2015 Outfitter this year and like yours it has a leaking problem too. I think the culprit is the front hatch which has a poorly designed gasket. I got rid of the water by put the kayak on it's side and soak up the water with a sponge.

You will get some water but not more than 1 or 2 cups. I think the rudder line holes are the cause because the outfitter rear is very low. They spend lots of time under water especially if you are on a heavy side

You can check your hatches leak by put a towel under it and spay water on top (if leak then check for the rubber ring and make sure it straight all around or could be debris).

I don't think this model has issue with crack on the drive well(s) even older model year but you should check it out. Visually or you could fill water half way in the hull and check for any leak.

Use towel if not much water and if lots of water then put it up side down and have the back of your yak on the higher side (have the cooler or something support it). Most of time I just lean the yak on the side and use a cup to get the water out (I don't use pump pile - too much exercise).