Hobie Cat Forums

I thought my story about being in heavy waves without a daggerboard was a disaster. Mate, you are well a truely in the lead when it comes to horror stories. I would be lucky to get 2 cup full's in the hull in a 4 hour sail even with constant submarining. Have you worked it out yet ? To have that much water you would think that there would have to be a hole somewhere under the water line with the water pressure filling it up like a tap. Perhaps if you take the hull out onto the dry driveway and support it correctly and then put a small amount of water in the hull to check if anything comes out. I have done that with another kayak of mine to check for cracks. You don't want to put in too much water though, say 10 litres, as you don't want to load up the hull incorrectly. Just a thought.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try (in fact I already rinsed the inside btw !) and let you know what comes out.
I take no pride in being the first on the list to have capsized the AI but I remember reports of people having had the same problems of water in the hull, and that they were not related to any cracks in the hull. Do correct me if I'm wrong on these two points.

Arno,
A crack can be very difficult to see and often needs pressure, such as from the mirage drive (if in the drivewell) to open.
I had a hairline crack in my 08 AI drivewell front ledge that was barely noticeable. It did let in about 20 litres of water on one trip though.
That's why I'm a bit surprised at your 50 litres just from hatch leakage!
This post details how best to check for leaks:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9021&hilit=vacuum
PS-The hull was promptly replaced by Hobie!

I hadn't seen that thread before that Stringy just posted. May be best to go with that method as it has the Hobie seal of approval (sorry about that). I just had a look at my hull and perhaps what may have happened is that if the rear cargo hold got filled with water thus causing the stern to go under enough so that the rudder cable holes were now under water, could that deliver 4 bucket loads into the hull in the time it took you to notice ? Probably not. Was the rear drain plug tight ? I also know that my rear hatch dosen't seal very well. It's water resistant but not waterproof. The design is a hinged latch with a perimeter seal which gives unequal seal pressure. I'm sure if you put any of our rear hatch's under water they would leak. As you can see Arno, we are all keen to find the cause.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Thanks a lot for the checking method that I had overlooked. I'm definitely going to do it accordingly, as I want to learn more about what may have happened.
Slaughter, I checked the rear drain plug (I always do, together with those at the amas tips) and it was tight as usual. But you're quite right that from what I saw at the end of the trip, the rudder cable holes were under water for some time.
Thanks again for your great help, it brings relief !