leaky hatches other issues.

  Well, as most of you know, it rained for the BAM IV event, not as hard as the rain at Del Valle last year, but the rain was steady.  I've determined that the factory installed hatches on my OB (Both 8" hatches) are not sealed very well.  I had inches of water in the hull from sitting in the rain up by my campsite (Not on the lake, no hull cracks yet)
  I need to remove both 8" hatches and goober up the sealing surfaces with a nice bead of silicon then put the hatches back in. 
   Another thing I'm not to happy about is, any water sitting on the center hatch, will end up in the hull when I open the center hatch.  It runs down and hits the lip of the hatch then gets whatever is sitting beneath the hatch wet!  Try as I may to remember to wipe the hatch down before opening, I forget and water gets in the hull.  Probably not a big concern when it's not raining, and yeah it's not a lot, a few drips, but I kinda don't want to see any water in the hull.  (Having a hull that was cracked and took on a LOT of water in the past)

  The cooler I installed with rod holders worked out OK.  I kept my net and 1 pole in the holders, the cooler itself, the lid was far from watertight,  rain pooled in it as if it didn't have a lid.   I find that I'm keeping my Hobie supplied double sided tackle box in it, as well as my anchor & rope, water bottle and snacks. Would be nice to keep them somewhat dry and not in sitting in standing water.   Not sure I'll attempt to make the lid a little more watertight, (Adding some thin weatherstripping to it) or not.   I have some thin stuff we use on our tools during installs, that I think will help. Can't hurt to try I guess.
 
  Fishfinder:  I noticed that my FF display would start to act up when someone else with a FF approached/ passed by me.  My display started to show a full screen of short vertical lines "Matrix" style  I guess the electronics were getting confused by the other FF sonar returns.  I thought at one point when I first witnessed this, that my FF battery was going dead.  It wasn't.  As other yaks approached me, the lines returned, then went away when that magical distance between both FF was exceeded. 

  I quickly learned that I need a float / buoy for my bait bucket, like many of those that were at BAM used, to anchor it in safe water for the bait.  I happened to check on my bait and the bucket was up against the shore, and had 2" of mud in it!  The minnows were still alive, couldn't see them though.  I rinsed the mud out then tied a rock to the line and tossed them out into deeper water where they lived happily.
  I have my original 1lb folding anchor that was supplied with my very first OB, (Fishermans package) that'll I'll use now instead of rocks, just need to get a float.

  My traveling bait bucket worked out very well.  The "Sprayer" style aerator, which can operate on 6Vdc or 12Vdc worked well enough to cause foam on the water in the bucket when powered on 12Vdc (Power plug in truck) No minnow loss on the drive up from where I got the minnow in Petaluma.



 

Hi Troy,

Good luck with the hatches.  A big sponge in your hull would soak up most of the water that spashes in during a trip, if you can get those hatches sealed up.

Troy,

As long as your minnow bucket floats, I don't know that you need a separate float.  My minnow bucket has styrofoam in a couple places and so I just tied them - had one for myself and one for a friend - to an anchor and dropped it in the water, making sure that the length of rope was greater than the water depth.  The next morning I just grabbed the line and pulled up the little anchor.

I also had vertical lines on my FF and now that you mention it, it may have been caused by the FF on my buddies yak.  I'll have to pay more attention to that.

Look forward to hearing what you do with your hatches.  I too get some water in the hull but it doesn't sound like I get nearly as much as you.

Michael

 The plano "Delux" trolling bait bucket I have floats as well, and the rock on the end did of the line did work.  Probably a much cheaper way to go as rocks will allways be available, but it would be nice to just come back and hook up to an anchored float and forget about it.  I plan to use my little anchor now instead of rocks.

  I have an air powered caulking gun and a few tubes of silicon laying around.  Those hatches will be sealed!  My sponge is a microcloth I use to wipe my hands with. 

you could just tie the bait bucket up to like a 2 - 4 oz sinker I would think. Especially if you don't plan on bringing your anchor with you everywhere you go.

I used 65lb braid to connect my bait bucket - felt that worked out pretty well.

My Marauder was full of water too after a night of rain. So I suppose I'll either be doing some caulking too or turning the kayak over when not in use. There was enough water inside to keep my bait alive, better anyway than in my bucket with two aerators.

Try EKs "frog butt" upgrade for your hatches it makes a difference.

Try EKs "frog butt" upgrade for your hatches it makes a difference.

I finally ended up upgrading at the beginning of this year and an its a night & day difference well actually wet to dry difference.   

Thanks again for the tip EK   

  My OB has the "twist N Lok" hatches.  When there closed & locked I think that part of the hatch is sealed fine.  I'm not convinced that where the hatch contacts the hull is completely sealed.  Thats where I'll be concentrating my sealing efforts.   Thanks for the tip though.

It can be informative to have someone pour water from a hose on the deck while you look inside from the bow...not sure if this is possible on a Hobie.

I have had one of my "twist N Lok" hatches off of my OB and the gasket material they use is very thin.  Maybe, if the screws were loose or there was any warping in the opening, it might have trouble getting a perfect seal.  One other thing I noticed, was the plastic around the holes through the hull, was all burred up by the threads of the screws (if you can picture that) and that alone night compromise the seal.  (The screws thread into a backing place inside the hull)  Suggestion: take one apart, careful not to tear the gasket, smooth down the burs on the hull holes with a knife, then reassemble, check for leaks.

Try EKs "frog butt" upgrade for your hatches it makes a difference.

Where do I find this info, Sean? ON Eric's website?

Where do I find this info

Here's the link to the post

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5204.0.html

Just a side note if you order the material from MC Masters they want you to order it in available lengths ...disregard that..they will ship you any length you need. I think I ordered 15 feet for a large rectangle and a circle hatch and had enough left over for a repair if its needed.

Thanks. Was that you I was talking to at BAM IV, talking about abalone and sea urchins not co-existing in the same locale?

Where do I find this info

Here's the link to the post

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5204.0.html

Just a side note if you order the material from MC Masters they want you to order it in available lengths ...disregard that..they will ship you any length you need. I think I ordered 15 feet for a large rectangle and a circle hatch and had enough left over for a repair if its needed.

 Colt45  Yes I remember seeing that on my last hull, totally forgot about it till you mentioned it!  Regardless, both hatches will be removed, inspected for burrs, and then copmletly goobered up with silicon around each screw and mounting hole, I may even replace the screw with SS cap screws & nuts. 

  Side note, I lined inside hull below the center hatch with this rubber "Drawer liner" stuff I got at costco a while ago.  It prevented items from slipping around in the hull.  The liner is just sitting inside currently.  I plan to use velcro at each corner I can reach on it to keep it positioned while loading etc..  This stuff worked real well!