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. Both superb machines, but also ones that leak. Not only did the Gulfstream come from the factory with a leak in the stern hatch -- due to incorrectly applied fiberglass around the skeg -- but the front and "day" hatch both let in enough water during a day's paddle to soak up anything not in a water-tight bag. And sure enough, the Solstice does the same thing. Both the stern and forward hatches manage to take in enough water to soak up clothes, etc. Interestingly, the Solstice uses both hatch cover designs -- the rear is "sealed off" with a gasket-lined plastic cover and criss-crossed webbing with cam locks. The front is a round pop-off rubber hatch cover. Also important here is that the leakage occurs regardless of the weather/water conditions. Smooth lake paddling with a handful of cool-off rolls produces the same leakage problem as have some of the rougher Gulf paddles I've been on. Any one else having a problem of this sort? Any suggestions on how to rectify? Jim Tynan Pike Road AL http://home/worldnet.att.net/~kayakbound *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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. Jim -----Original Message----- From: Tynan, James Sent: Friday, January 22, 1999 12:21 PM To: 'PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net' Subject: Hatch leakage from Current Designs kayaks ... 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. Both superb machines, but also ones that leak. Not only did the Gulfstream come from the factory with a leak in the stern hatch -- due to incorrectly applied fiberglass around the skeg -- but the front and "day" hatch both let in enough water during a day's paddle to soak up anything not in a water-tight bag. And sure enough, the Solstice does the same thing. Both the stern and forward hatches manage to take in enough water to soak up clothes, etc. Interestingly, the Solstice uses both hatch cover designs -- the rear is "sealed off" with a gasket-lined plastic cover and criss-crossed webbing with cam locks. The front is a round pop-off rubber hatch cover. Also important here is that the leakage occurs regardless of the weather/water conditions. Smooth lake paddling with a handful of cool-off rolls produces the same leakage problem as have some of the rougher Gulf paddles I've been on. Any one else having a problem of this sort? Any suggestions on how to rectify? Jim Tynan Pike Road AL http://home/worldnet.att.net/~kayakbound *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
"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. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 12:38 PM 1/22/99 -0600, "Tynan, James" <JTYNAN_at_cap.af.mil>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. > >Jim > Hello Jim, I paddle a Current Designs Solstice GT. The rear hatch is the same as yours but the front is different. I get a little water most times as well. It might not wet a whole shirt, but it'll make your sandwich soggy. I think the problem (at least with the hatches I have) is that the strapping doesn't exert enough pressure normal to the hatch covers. The strapping is nice and flat for a "clean deck" but acts perpendicular to the needed direction. it's a compromise. It's just a little annoying so I live with it and try to spend more time paddling than thinking about it. Bill Leonhardt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I have a '94 Canadian made Current Designs Solstice ST, it was my first kayak. Generally, I was pleased with the boat and still am with the exception being leakage of the bulkheads. After about a year of owning the boat, I noticed that I consistently had water entering both the bow and stern compartments. Some simple testing with a hose proved the problem to be the bulkheads. Personally, I think these compartments should stay dry, very dry. While I pack important gear in dry bags, I just don't like the idea of water collecting in these spaces that are supposed to provide boyancy when I most need it. When they leaked, I placed air bags in each compartment for an added measure of safety. The thought of carrying around the extra water weight during kayaking treks didn't knock me over either. While I don't know a whole lot about this stuff, I've always suspected the problem came about because of one of two possible reasons - the bulkheads were made of plastic and the boat of fiberglass and the bulkheads were put in place using some sort of caulk, perhaps the two materials contract and expand differently when exposed to different temp extremes causing the caulking to break down - or perhaps it is due to the light lay-up of the boat. It is very easy to warp the hull's shape when tying it down on the car top. Perhaps this occasional warping caused a problem with the caulking. At one point, I wore a hole through the hull of the boat where my heals contact the hull (excessive kayaking in water shoes combined with the light layup). When I had the heel holes repaired by a fiberglass fix-it person, I had him glass the edges of the bulkheads as well. This solved the problem, I had dry compartments after practice rolling sessions and lived happily ever after... Greg Hollingsworth *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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