Another yak full of water story and COBRA WARRANTY COVERAGE

Large center hatch for Rod storage is now a must for me (since I have one I won't do without in the future), love my Marauder for that reason (as well as others), Wes at Cobra said they had fixed the problem I (and others) had. We'll see when I get the new one.

FYI Pat, he was using the T15 that day and the kayak was bought as a Blemish.
His kayak was practically brand new.

Does anyone have the lowdown on the cause of the leak?

The ironic thing for me is that I'm considering a Marauder for those rough launches (need to be able to store rods easily). I only recently became interested in Cobra kayaks after seeing/hearing Al's T13 sink at GMS3....before that event, I was fully committed to a T13 because of the RodPod. But now I'm wondering if I should just stick w/the Tarpons...and deal with the awkward rod-storage position..?

EVERY brand fails, its a matter of numbers, some more, some less, all at an overall small percentage. But the way we use our kayaks, loaded down, rough rocky launches, going over and over, I think it puts us at a higher risk of ending up on a leaker. The only major brand I haven't heard of sinking is Hurricane, and that's only because there are so few of their boats out here on the west coast. Probably highlights the need for a preventative survey every so often. AND due diligence on hatch seals.

I think we are talking about two different issues here. 

1) These Marauder failures are all identical, and this is clearly a design flaw that has hopefully been fixed.

2) ANY boat can have a defect.  Rotomolding isn't as precise as you would think and I have seen just about every brand have a leak.

FYI Pat, he was using the T15 that day and the kayak was bought as a Blemish.
His kayak was practically brand new. I was using the T13  that day and have
used the boat for at least three times now and I have no problem with it. My
boat is also a blem which I bought from FW where Al had purchased his.

Jedmo

I was also on a T13 and had a few waves pretty much break on my bow and there was absolutely no water in my hull. In fact, the T13 is the dryest kayak I've ever owned. My Caper always had some amount (usually a few cups or so) of water in the hull after pretty much any trip, and my old P15 always seemed to have just a tiny bit of water in the hull after an ocean or bay trip...but so far the T13's hull has been bone dry after every trip.

I was fully committed to a T13 because of the RodPod. But now I'm wondering if I should just stick w/the Tarpons...and deal with the awkward rod-storage position..?

We've actually had a few members @ NWKA w/ some troubles w/ rodpod leakage after going through surf or flipping. The worst had what he said was an extra 24#s of water (I'd guess that to be a few gallons). He had a pretty bad day and a flush mount popped too. Looks like OK uses well nuts now. Bsteves and Pole checked and said they could tighten down the screws quite a bit. OK riders w/ the wellnuts should give it a check.
Z

The carnage:

I was also on a T13 and had a few waves pretty much break on my bow and there was absolutely no water in my hull.

My T-15 is the same way.

He had a pretty bad day and a flush mount popped too. Looks like OK uses well nuts now.

I don't know why they switched, but well nuts are jive.

The worst had what he said was an extra 24#s of water (I'd guess that to be a few gallons).

8.31lbs per gallon of water. Don't ask me why I have that number memorized....

But Thanks for the replies of confidence in the Tridents, everybody. I am probably going to stick w/the T13, instead of Cobra. I'll make sure to monitor the hatch seals too.
Man I wish I had the cash when Aaron or Mike or James had their Tridents for sale D'OH!

But Thanks for the replies of confidence in the Tridents, everybody. I am probably going to stick w/the T13, instead of Cobra. I'll make sure to monitor the hatch seals too.

Not trying to convince anyone of anything, but I spoke with Wes at Cobra and I should have my new (free replacement) Marauder by Friday (6/5), and he indicated there have been updates/improvements to the hull over the models that are a couple years older.


I'll post an opinion when I get it. 

That's great that they are replacing your boat but shouldn't Cobra recall or at least let everyone who bought one of these boats know that there is a design flaw or are they going to wait until someone dies?

That's great that they are replacing your boat but shouldn't Cobra recall or at least let everyone who bought one of these boats know that there is a design flaw or are they going to wait until someone dies?

Good point, been thinking about that myself, 

As of today I am less than thrilled with the warranty service, IE I still don't have a yak, NOW the delivery date is next Thursday, at Half Moon Bay Kayak, over an hour drive from my house.......supposedly the boat is in transit so it's actually on it's way. Boat is supposed to have several improvements over my 2 yr old model, looking forward to seeing it.

Cobra just replaced my Marauder after I discovered the same problem last month following two years of good use.  I just got the new one rigged up and ready to go.  Thanks to Wes and the people at Cobra for taking care of this in a most forthright manner.

Etienne

Cobra just replaced my Marauder after I discovered the same problem last month following two years of good use.  I just got the new one rigged up and ready to go.  Thanks to Wes and the people at Cobra for taking care of this in a most forthright manner.

Etienne

Glad you're happy, how long did yours take? 

From the first email I sent to their customer service mailbox (Wes), to my picking it up at Halfmoon Bay Kayak it took a day short of 6 weeks, of course the low buck shipper took 10+ days to get it from SoCal to HMB. At first I was pissed about the 6 weeks, but considering the whole thing (they built the boat per my directions)so I got a brand new redesigned Marauder outfitted the way I wanted it at no cost to me. They didn't hesitate on the replacement for a second. So all in all Cobra did alright.

The scuppers below the seat have been moved a tiny bit which may make the crack prone area a little more sturdy, they have also changed the deck layout to make room for a foot controlled rudder, which I declined as something else to bang around, but it does end up leaving a wider well for your feet, it's noticeably more comfortable (at least for me).   

They also designed one of the scupper holes to accomodate a FF transducer, it has threaded stainless steel inserts set in the plastic that lines up perfectly with my eagle FF transducer bracket. I'm still going to use an interior mounted shoot thru hull, but the scupper mount looks pretty slick.

and now I've got some obligations that are gonna keep me off the water awhile longer, such is life.

From the first email I sent to their customer service mailbox (Wes), to my picking it up at Halfmoon Bay Kayak it took a day short of 6 weeks, of course the low buck shipper took 10+ days to get it from SoCal to HMB. At first I was pissed about the 6 weeks, but considering the whole thing (they built the boat per my directions)so I got a brand new redesigned Marauder outfitted the way I wanted it at no cost to me. They didn't hesitate on the replacement for a second. So all in all Cobra did alright.

The scuppers below the seat have been moved a tiny bit which may make the crack prone area a little more sturdy, they have also changed the deck layout to make room for a foot controlled rudder, which I declined as something else to bang around, but it does end up leaving a wider well for your feet, it's noticeably more comfortable (at least for me).   

They also designed one of the scupper holes to accomodate a FF transducer, it has threaded stainless steel inserts set in the plastic that lines up perfectly with my eagle FF transducer bracket. I'm still going to use an interior mounted shoot thru hull, but the scupper mount looks pretty slick.

and now I've got some obligations that are gonna keep me off the water awhile longer, such is life.
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Glad that you finally got your replacement kayak.  I know you're going to be busy "pimping" your new yak    Hope to see you OTW soon.

Cobra just replaced my Marauder after I discovered the same problem last month following two years of good use.  I just got the new one rigged up and ready to go.  Thanks to Wes and the people at Cobra for taking care of this in a most forthright manner.

Etienne

Glad you're happy, how long did yours take? 

About 4+ weeks all in all since my first phone call.  I only noticed the cracks because of this post.  I guess I owe you a thank you too.  My cracks never actually leaked but clearly were on the way and I use my boat a lot in remote areas like Big Sur.   I also like the changes they made in general especially the extra foot room but regret the loss of the forward rail rod holders as a result of the rudder set up.  I also notice a little more weight.  I put two Scotty rod holders in the front corners of the foot wells since I also passed on the rudder.  I also changed out their rod holders for two that are beefier and have more angle to them since my elbows hit my rods when I use the ones they provided.  I am ready for some blood stains on the deck.  Sunday is probably the day.

Etienne