Water in the hull

Hi all

This morning started with a strong wind warning so of course I put the AI on the car and headed for the bay. The warning was greatly exaggerated as it was about 15 knots where I was sailing maybe gusting a little more but still a great morning.

There was a little chop although not as much as on other occasions and as usual a fair bit of that in the boat with me. On getting back to shore and de-rigging it turns out I had a fair amount of water in the hull. I had to bail out with a sponge for a while. This is the first time I've had any volume of water in the hull. The only thing that changed since I sailed in similar conditions is that I now use a series of cut down pool noodles tied together to protect the hull on the ramp and then put them in the cargo hold before setting out. I thought I had it sealed properly but the only thing I can think is I didn't get it right although let's face it it's pretty straightforward...

Have others had any similar issues or is there any particular trick to waterproofing the hatch that I've missed?

Yes the bung was in and tight.

About every 3-4 months, we remove the drain plug on the AIs and hook them up to the exhaust of a shop vac using a small piece of drip hose. The vac connections don't need to be sealed, as long as air keeps pumping into the hull (duct tape!). All excess air comes out of the front hatch, so it won't harm the boat. Then we soap up the boat with a light mixture of some type of spe and water. Dish washing soap works well for us. Either use a spray bottle, or better yet a sponge and bucket and get soapy water over the boat, connection, screws, etc. You should see bubbles arount the front hatch, the steering handle, the up/down handles and the rear rudder line tubes, but that's it. Anything else that bubbles, needs to be tightened, sealed or cleaned.

It always surprises me where new leaks show up each time we do this.

Also, at the same time, CHECK THAT ALL HARDWARE IS TIGHT! I just found last week that my front aka support was loose. 3 screws loose, one completely out (but captured by my paddle leash). I don't want to think about what would happen if the front aka support, holding on the aka, ama and sail left while sailing

Remember to put back in the drain plug.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006