Hobie Cat Forums

I'm new to Hobie Kayaking and Sailing. I have a 2012 TI. I love it. My first longer trip was a sail in 25.11 miles into Lake Michigan. Wind was probably 20 knots with swells to 4 or 5 feet. During this 5 hour sail, the bow was getting slammed pretty hard with waves. It was submarining pretty hard off and on for at least 30 minutes. Today when I was getting ready for another trip, I heard sloshing and opened the forward hatch. I then proceeded to pump about 2 to 4 quarts of water from the hold.

Did I spring a leak?
Is this normal?
Should I be concerned?

Also, I implemented a version of Yakass's tramp tension mod. I was surprised by how easy it was with figure 9 carabiners. I did change were it was tied into the boat so I have a few questions.

What is the rated capacity of the tramps? I got a buddy who is 190 to 210lbs. Is it cool for him to hike out?

Also, I'm tying into the stainless pad eye in the middle of each AMA. Are these sturdy pad eyes? Is it ok to lash to them?

THANKS!

I can only answer the question about the water you took on. Here in Texas we fish offshore in groups of 2-4 AIs or TIs at a time. Conditions are similar to those described and it is common to take on a gallon of water over the course of an outing. Boats with a problem will take on 2 or more gallons. Those should look into the leaks as it make their boat sail sluggishly. Always carry a manual bilge.

That is too much water. A while ago I got towed in my TI at over 7 knots for more than an hour, with me in the front seat. Despite wearing chest-high waders, I got absolutely drenched, and often could not even see my legs through the huge mountain of foam. When I eventually tilted the hull on the trailer to empty out the water, there was less than half a pint inside. After every trip I open all the drain plugs (of course), and I tilt the TI & trailer till thew stern is resting on the ground, so I can find out as soon as possible if it takes on mre water than normal.

Are you sure you had the front hatch fully seated so the double seal can work?

I believe the tramps are rated at 100kg (which is why I didn't buy any ) so your buddy should be OK as long as he tries to spread his weight rather than put all his weight in one spot.

I would say the water penetration was well within the normal range for that hard a sail.

Stock tramps are rated 200lb ea.

Glad you had a hobie day. Where's the video?

Nice ride! The forward hatch seal must be the most likely culprit... BTW, when out in chop/swells, what is the remedy for preventing the windward ama from bouncing down (from its bungee). It's a bit annoying and scary seeing the ama sliding down/up and eventually re-engaging when it's knock just right. If that forward bungee ever failed, it could be ugly...? Mine are stretching/weakening.
Ratchet straps??
Thanks.
Scott

Search for "Double Bungee"

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http://KayakingBob.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2007, 2009 & 2010 Hobie AIs and a 2010 TI

NOHUHU, are you really saying that a gallon in the hull from one trip is within normal limits? That is a lot of water... where would that come if not through either a poorly sealed front hatch or a crack in the hull?

Any or all of the twist and seal hatches, they leak like crazy too!

J

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2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

My hatches must be exceptionally well behaved then. My twist & seal hatches only seem to leak when I open them and water sitting in the handle recess runs inside. I'm not complaining if my TI is a freak

None of my Hobies (I have 4) take on even a single drop of water inside, no matter what.

You can seal yours this tightly as well, but you'll have to spend a bit of time doing it.

Take the boat outside and with some pressure from a garden hose, hit each hatch and fitting, one at a time, with a really good strong dousing of water. A minute or two each. Then look inside. If no water appears, move on to the next hatch or fitting and repeat.

If you find any leaking hatches or fittings, fix them by whatever the appropriate means may be. GOOP around through hull fittings or tape on the inside of your twist and stow hatch rings.

Once you know there is no water coming in from topside, you can fill the hull with some water and watch to see if any of it leaks out from below. If so, either GOOP (pinhole fix) or plastic welding (splits/cracks) are possible fixes.

There is no reason for the hull to take on any water - okay maybe a few drops from condensation or seepage from the rudder lines. But that's about it.

My AI came from the factory with a serious split in the hull bottom. I welded it and now it's absolutely watertight.

I have had leakage problems both on the AI and TI mainly on the front hatch. My boats have the older style gaskets. I installed a watertight bulkhead just aft of the mast on both boats. That allowed me to narrow the main source of the leak. I then applied some low pressure air to the hull and found that the hatch does not sit flat and I have less pressure at 2 & 7 o'clock.



Another problem is the design of the Bungee strap hook cut-out. When heeled the cut-out scoops water hydraulically forcing water into the back gasket channel. The increased pressure causes gasket leak. I have since filled that area with kayak foam pad. A little silicone on the gasket and I can pull a vacuum on the front hatch when the boat hits the cooler water. Four days of head winds and submerging in this years EC and no leaks in the forward section...

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Paul
DogsLife
2011 Adventure Island (Little Dog)
2010 Tandem Island (Big Dog: "We keep a leg up on the competition")
2001 Wilderness Systems Woodsman Kayak 14.5 (Blue Dog)

http://dogslifeadventures.blogspot.com/

Maybe the 2012 models have improved the front hatch seal, as mine doesn't allow any measurable water ingress even when submerged consistently inside a towing vessel's stern wave at 10 knots.

There are so many places that leak over time, so having a quart or two after a rough sail is not uncommon. We usually compare amounts of water in each boat when sailing together and when one has substantially more than the others, then it's time to do an air test and tighten bolts, super clean hatch gaskets and goop (or silicon adhesive) penetrations. Repeated larger leaks almost always find cracks, some easily fixable, others warranty issues.

When we were sailing more than once a week (hopefully again soon) we would overhaul each boat 3-4 times a year, always finding loosening hardware and leaks.

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http://KayakingBob.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2007, 2009 & 2010 Hobie AIs and a 2010 TI

Hi Tony. Out here it's not that unusual to have 1/2 gallon or more after a hard sail. AI/TI, old/new. We don't like it, but we see it.

Depends on the conditions. I suspect the stern and cockpit more than the bow seal cuz those areas are constantly awash while sailing upwind in swells.

I consider the flexing, rolling AI hulls to be giant 16' syringes, sucking water in any sliver opening for hours on end. Rarely expelling it. (One more reason to use Hakas!)

Regarding the seals, my "new" 2011 hull takes on more water than my 2008 did. Still, I don't blame the front hatch. The tops of stuff sitting right under it stay pretty dry.

A leak test is in order, I guess.

I have a new TI and on two separate occasions, discovered the front hatch was not seated completely. It appeared fine, but when I was standing on it, noticed it pop down into place.... yikes!

Yes, after it happened once, I thought it wouldn't happen again! But even with it clearly in mind, it still didn't seat right a second time even though I thought it did! Lesson learned.... check twice or three times especially if you are going out in big water. I may just use a lubricant (non-petroleum based) on the seal to ensure it's seated properly.

Happy sailing!

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dp

Vashon Island, WA USA

2012 Hobie Tandem Island in Ivory Dune
2007 Hobie Revolution in Ugly Brownish Green Gray (currently being ignored)
2010 Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 in Mango (this too, abandoned)