Re: [Paddlewise] Hatch leakage from Current Designs kayaks ...

"Tynan, James" wrote:

> Sorry folks!  I should have added that the amount of leakage is not
> extreme under normal paddling conditions in terms of volume.  Though
> hard to quantify due to varying weather/water conditions, time on water,
> number of times rolled, rocked, swept over, etc. but almost all of the
> time it certainly is enough to completely soak up an XL cotton T-shirt
> or two.
>
> [...]
> Just wondering if anyone else has experienced hatch-leakage problems
> with their Current Designs kayak(s).  I've owned a Gulfstream and now
> paddle a Solstice ST.

I've got a Solstice GTH, so I share the same rear hatch.  I found the webbing
difficult to get tight enough to be really waterproof, so I added a seal to the
bottom of the hatch seat.  That is, I got some neoprene weather stripping,
roughly 3/4 in wide and 1/8 in thick and laid it in the trough where the rubber
seal on the hatch would touch.  I didn't put the weather stripping in the bottom
exactly, but rather placed it more to the inside so that it formed a J shape.
That way the seal forces the hatch cover to widen a bit.  I figured that would give
a better seal.  I haven't had _any_ leaks since doing this.  I leave the hatch
cover off when the boat is not in use so the neoprene doesn't become
permanently compressed.

My front hatch is fiberglass and uses a cam system, unlike the rubber hatch
covers on yours.  For mine, I just found that you have to wet the webbing
(as someone recently noted here) and make sure it's _tight_ to eliminate
leakage.  I'll let someone else advise you on waterproofing the rubber
hatch covers.



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