Water in hull. Can not find leak.

My new 2016 Revo 16 has water getting into the hull. I drained 7 1/2 cup out of it after being in the water for 3 and a half hours, very nice day no water came over the sides. I tried the shop vac and soap test and could not find a leak. One place that is hard to check is the scupper holes for the rear deck. The hull halves are not very well lined up at the scupper holes, to the point that I do not think Hobie was able to put the black plastic liners all the way in. I can see the o-ring at the bottom of the plastic liners. I am assuming the black plastic liners are there to help with hull damage from using a cart in the holes and not to seal the holes. But they do have o-rings? Is it possible to knock the black plastic liners out to inspected the scupper holes? Are they glued in? I tapped on them and they did not move easily. Thinking back on the day I did tip the boat up on its side to put the Hobie cart in but the pressure test shows the front hatch to be tight. The hatch leaks only after it lifts from the air pressure. I worked on getting the hatch to fit well after the first time I took it out and thought maybe I had gotten water in the hull when washing the boat. The hatch leaked bad till I took the gasket off the lid leaving only the gasket on the hull like my 2015 Revo 13 now it is tight. So I could fill it with water is that next?

(Isolate) Tape over the bottom of each scupper and most at the top to reduce the air escape hole size to help create bubbles during the test. Too large a hole and it can not create bubbles.

The parts are threaded in. They do not come all the way to the cargo floor. There is no "O-Ring".

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I found the leak. I found it the first time I used the vacuum to pressurize the hull. The Thru-Hull wire plug in the cargo area behind the seat was drilled and mounted so it was not on a flat area. So the gasket can not seal. I thought it was high enough that water would not get in there and it was almost sealing. I sealed it with hot glue and went kayaking Saturday, no water leak. When on the water I put my hand back there and the water level is right at the top of the scupper holes with water just touching the Thru-Hull wire plug. Me and my gear I have on and in the seat area weigh about 210 pounds. No gear in the cargo area and about 30 pounds of saftey gear and other stuff in the front hatch. I am just guessing but I think with it being wet where the gasket was not sealing well and the pumping action peddling and wave action the water was getting sucked passed the gasket. In my case a poor sealing gasket. Hobie needs to move this plug again to where is higher and out of the water. On my Revo 13 the plug is higher.

My 2016 Revo 16 also had an issue with the tank-well thru-hull. I held off on posting because I wanted to give my dealer the chance to resolve it (they did).

When they contacted Hobie, Hobie's response was that the fitting was above the waterline and shouldn't be a problem. When I'm in my boat, the bottom of this fitting is at/below the water line. Maybe Hobie needs a bigger test person when they are determining where the water line is.

On top of being at the waterline, my thru-hull was installed incorrectly (the fitting was misaligned over an over-sized hole). Matt, if Hobie is going to install thru-hulls at the water-line, they have to be installed correctly so they stand a chance of functioning as intended.


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I think mime would of sealed OK if care had been taken in locating the plug on a flat surface. Moving it back a 1/4" or 3/8". But it would still be close to water level with me and my gear at about 215 pounds and would be under water if I had any weight anywhere behind the seat. I weigh 190 pounds.

I purchased a 2013 Outfitter and I've also noticed an excess of water in my hull after a day out on the water. For instance out on the water for two hours with the wife we went over 6.22nm and it was a great outing. but on the way back the winds picked up and the chop caused wet seats. After pulling the kayak out on the beach I was surprised to hear and feel so much water. I didn't measure the amount of water as we were at the beach but at lease 1/4 gallons of water came out of the drain plug. t haven't done a leak check because I found the leak straight away by chance when I was cleaning it after the outing. One of the quick release cam seat recesses is cracked. I took a pic with my phone I'll submit later. The kayak is only a month old from purchase and I haven't contacted the dealer yet, thought I'd first ask around here for a quick fix or if a warranty claim is in my future.

Epoxying a pvc cap over the seat posts usually works. I've had the leak there before, repaired it that way & did it as a preventative measure on all my other Hobies.

_________________
Bob
Proud member Kayak Fishing Association of New York

Mine has a chronic leak, with me and and modest load in the tankwell (about 2/3 total of rated capacity) stationary on flat water, water in tankwell starts to cover plug. When you start peddling, nose of yak rises, rear drops and water swirls up the scuppers and fitting is fully submerged. Note this is with still only part load and with no wave affect. In effect on water this is underwater 100% of time, not just splashes. This is also without any wiring through (blanked)

This is a deck fitting not a sump plug, it is not suitable for below water line(which it effectively is). Not only is it a leak issue but if that plastic nut on the back fails, and they are hardly solid fit, you will not have a nuisance leak, you will sink. Having it refitted or sealed with silicone is not reliable to prevent failure.

It really needs to be removed and a proper sump plug installed or plastic welded up altogether.

Can hobie guarantee the integrity of this for the life of the kayak, or is this a failure waiting to happen at anytime?

I have no reason to believe it would fail and under normal loads it should not be under water. We have since moved the fittings in more recent models.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

The fitting is under water under a normal load of 210lbs man in the seat. The water comes up above the supper holes and into the cargo area just enough that it is in contact with the fitting. Thank Hobie for moving it higher that should fix it. Does Hobie ever have hulls repair by someone who knows what they are doing? I would like to have the hole filled in. I think a little water is still getting by the rubber inserts in the fitting. I may be going camping this summer and will have more weight in the kayak and the fitting will be even more under water.

paddler 95kg(209lb)+load20kg(44lb)=253lb and peddling moderate speed flat water

When peddling, nose of yak rises, rear drops and water surges up scuppers.

This is less than full yak design load of 165kg(360lbs), neither does it take into account any affect of wave action.

In reality it means this fitting is under water 100% of time, Hobie australia have confirmed this fitting is not suitable for submersion applications, which is effectively what is happening.

This flooded well is exactly the same as my 2006 adventure, so it is not unknown to flood under operation. When picking the yak up I pointed this potential out but was advised the well was higher and it is not a problem. That was not true the well is the same (AI may be higher in water but not revo). Yak was purchased april 2016 well after revision date, so should never have been supplied in first place.

I suggest Hobie should load up one of these realistically (fishos have load in the back (not nose), go for a peddle in real world conditions and check it out for themselves rather than just use theory.

This fitting has a finger tight backing nut that can easily slacken off or slip its thread. It is also in a location that gets gear tossed on top of it. A grapnel anchor hooking the wire would have no problem ripping this fixture out. If this fails there is no limping back, it sinks period.

Irony is thru hull fittings only bypass the seat well to mesh pocket, so it benefits nothing when there is ample room for wires under seat itself.

Bottom line I have paid $3000 for something I dont feel safe on

As you can see from the photo it is. Moving it is fine for new models, but what happens for customers with the situation as above. It is a deck fitting installed below water level. Does hobie consider smearing a bit of goop on it now makes it a below water level standard fitting, with the goop seal never leaking, as you will never see it if it does.

Is it still safe for customers to attempt to run a wire through a plug thats underwater? If not then its not fit for purpose.

Is there an approved warranty preventative fix for this?

I have ordered the plastic welding rod and am planing to learn how to weld up the hole. If I or anyone else in the future want to install a fish finder the fitting can be put in the right location above water. It would be nice to have a round piece of hull to put in the hole so I am looking for a old hull to cut a piece out of.

Hobie should be able to supply off cuts. Not even sure welding below the water line is technically approved of, but if hobie wont fix it you dont have any choice. Practice a lot first or you can make a pigs ear of it, especially as you can't access the back side.