Hobie kayak almost sinking in Pacifica

https://wheeleez.com/product/wz1-sbc/

No, I don’t have the black plastic tubes.  Yes, I could have pumped the bilge and pedaled.  I was incredibly impressed by how much water my hand pump was throwing out.  I’m sure I was gaining ground, but I was so close to the shore I never found out.  I will say if it happened again I would use the paddle as I pedaled.  The paddle would be used for stability.  When a kayak is full of water, it really rolls side to side.  I am now going to carry some water epoxy putty with me.  I highly doubt that this will ever happen again, it was a freak accident that I know to check for now.
What happened was I didn’t realize that the pipe was not inserted all the  way when I flipped the kayak over.  I felt it bind up, but didn’t realize the stress it put on the scupper.  The moral of the story is always do a safety check before you head to open water.  Open your hatch and make sure everything is ok.  And get a hand bilge.  While the bilge will throw water easily into the drive well, you have to pay attention.  I am going to add a short piece of hose So I don’t have to aim it.

This was a pretty common problem with some of the older Hobies. Fortunately, Hobie got around to reinforcing the scupper holes with the black sleeve that you guys mentioned.

I used plastic epoxy on the inside and outside.

You might want to reinforce it, something like what this guy does:

Here’s the video of the guy who was towing his buddy.
Same story. Scupper holes.

No, I don’t have the black plastic tubes.  Yes, I could have pumped the bilge and pedaled.  I was incredibly impressed by how much water my hand pump was throwing out.  I’m sure I was gaining ground, but I was so close to the shore I never found out.  I will say if it happened again I would use the paddle as I pedaled.  The paddle would be used for stability.  When a kayak is full of water, it really rolls side to side.  I am now going to carry some water epoxy putty with me.  I highly doubt that this will ever happen again, it was a freak accident that I know to check for now.
What happened was I didn’t realize that the pipe was not inserted all the  way when I flipped the kayak over.  I felt it bind up, but didn’t realize the stress it put on the scupper.  The moral of the story is always do a safety check before you head to open water.  Open your hatch and make sure everything is ok.  And get a hand bilge.  While the bilge will throw water easily into the drive well, you have to pay attention.  I am going to add a short piece of hose So I don’t have to aim it.

Thank you.  I learned something today.

I’ve been using a Wheeleez cart for a long time and I still can’t figure out why people use scupper carts.

I just mounted Boondox Landing Gear with the big balloon type wheels on my 2019 Outback.  I have always used a wheeleez cart in the past.  The Landing Gear will make it much easier to stow the wheels when on the water.  It should make it much easier to get it on the wheels too.  The new heavy kayaks don't make it easy on us OGs.  The stability is great but lifting them isn't much fun.

I’ve been using a Wheeleez cart for a long time and I still can’t figure out why people use scupper carts.

Amen to that. Whatever slight advantage there is to a scupper cart is far outweighed by the potential to do damage. Personally, if I had a serious crack around a scupper hole, I'd put that hull in the recycling bin...

IÂ’ve been using a Wheeleez cart for a long time and I still canÂ’t figure out why people use scupper carts.

Amen to that. Whatever slight advantage there is to a scupper cart is far outweighed by the potential to do damage. Personally, if I had a serious crack around a scupper hole, I'd put that hull in the recycling bin...

Like lots of people chimed in, but Hobie already reinforced the scupper holes for the scupper carts.
I've been using them for six Hobies but never had problems (I won't recommend them for pre-reinforced or other kayaks either).
I have a Wheeleez but I use mainly the scupper carts (I have both hard one & balloon) now.
They actually have multiple conveniences over the wheeleez.
I just start the modification and it works pretty good.

Does anyone know what model year Hobie reinforced/improved the scupper holes?

My friends at Cal Kayak in Oakland recommended that I stuff foam pool noodles into my kayak hull for extra buoyancy for these types of incidents.  I followed their advice and put in 8 pool noodles (cut in half or so) into the hull.   I hope I never have to use them.  Stay Safe.

Does anyone know what model year Hobie reinforced/improved the scupper holes?

According to discussions on the Hobie site, it was 2012. But not all 2012 kayaks would necessarily have it as it was phased in throughout that year.

I have a 2012 Adventure and the holes are reinforced.

I had a leak in a brand new Hobie Quest many years ago. It was on a seam between the two halves of the hull. Made it back to shore no problem because it wasn't a big leak & like Croker I had a pump. Cal Kayak & Hobie replaced the boat.

Later I scraped the keel at the very end of the replaced kayak, causing a small leak. I fixed that with a kayak repair kit I got, I think from Hobie. It's like a small hot iron with plastic rods. Very easy to use, and by using a couple of the rods I was able to build up the keel so it was stronger than when new. Of course I've been a lot more careful with that keel ever since!

I echo a couple of other comments: get pool noodles & carry a pump & a radio.
Bill