Anybody Need Leaky Malibu Hatch Advice?
 

I picked 2 Stealth blems that had hatches that freely flowed water. I went and looked at some new non blem Stealths and the hatches looked to be about the same as mine, so I decided to figure out a solution. In the end I managed to seal them up pretty well and was wondering if there was any interest out there for me to do a write up on the process. My kayaks are still not water tight, but they are significantly dryer and the hinges are under much less stress than they were. So... Does anybody need me to share what I came up with, or has everyone already solved this problem on there own?

So what did you do to fix them?

Just post it already...! Lets see what you got.

All you need to do is pull the bungees on the front hatch over the posts drilled in on the sides, unless that was still causing an issue

one of my side hatches was leaky on my S-14. I removed the loose liner and epoxied it back with marine goop. Good to go.

My side hatches freely leaked water as well. I removed the hatch frames and sealed them where they mount to the kayak. Much less water leaking now, but still some from around the lid seal area. Like you said, stress on the hinges is obvious from that seal being too tall and/or too hard, and the lid itself just isn't stiff enough to seal in the middle of the lid between the latches. I need a better lid seal, was going to fix it eventually as the leakage isn't so bad anymore.

On my older Malibu X-Factor I got some of the window/door stick on foam seal. Use narrow and thin like 1/4 inch and apply it to the inside lip of the hatch lids. The lip area is where the hard thin rubber factory seal comes in contact with but over time the frame or hatch lids warp. If you apply some of the thin foam, it seals against the seal without applying to much pressure on the hatch lid or frame. It is cheap and easy to take off and replace at the start of each season. You can buy it at Home Depot or Walmart.

Yep! I use it around my bait tank lid too. Best fix!

I for one would like to hear what solutions you came up with. I have a 2011 Stealth 14 that definitely has a hatch leaking problem... and I still need to address it.

I love this boat, except for this.

I wish the folks at Malibu would find a solution once and for all about this leaking hatch issue with their kayaks. It's a shame because otherwise I find it is a great kayak for fishing.

Let's hear what you did?

PS - Anyone else have an issue with their angled hatch behind their seat leaking water into the hull? I'm sure there must be some issues as Malibu raised the hatch to flat instead of angled on their new Stealths.

- Ken

My X-13 leaked COPIOUS amounts of water through the front hatch no matter how tight I could get it. Really bad design. My first time out it easily got a gallon of water in the hull after punching just a few waves at LJ. I would have had a yak FULL of water had I stayed out in the rough wind waves that day, but I was just testing it in the surf.

Went to Malibu. They didn't have a solution and I got no replacement. All they did was install a gasket inside the hatch seal channel. Didn't help much.

I took their rubber seal out and put in my own 3/4" wide x 7/16" thick window seal tape in the same channel and cinched down the straps and voila! Improper design made better.

After looking the problem, I came to the conclusion that the issue was being caused by the density of the OEM seal. It is a fairly hard rubber that sticks out at the same height all the way around the perimeter of the hatch. Where the lid to the hatch first hits the seal is higher than the hinge and causes the hatch to stay in an open position, as you can see in the first picture. When closed, the lid would bow out and create a gap between the hinge and latch. It would also bow between the two latches, as can be seen in the second picture.ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>
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To fix this, I removed the rubber seal. I then installed the softer rubber weatherseal that I picked up at home depot. It has built in adhesive and only cost a few bucks. You can see in the picture how well it compresses, but it is firm enough to create a good seal. I installed it on the lip of the hatch lid, rather than where the stock seal came out. It just seems to work better being stuck there. I then silicone the hatch assemblies back to the kayak. When I was done, I filled the top of the kayak with water and looked in through the gator hatch. Hardly any water was able to get through, even with STANDING WATER covering the hatches.<O:p></O:p>
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I did something similar with the lid to the bait tank. Mine had nearly a 1" gap on either side when the lid was closed. It is now sealed well, preventing bait tank overflow from dumping on the side hatches. I need to take some pictures of what I did with this.<O:p></O:p>

Hi Sam,

Thanks for sharing this. Though I'm a little confused about a few things... :hmmmm: When you installed the weatherseal on the lip of the hatch lid... I assume you ran it along the length of the one side where the hinges are, yes? (The photo might be misleading because it doesn't show the entire length)

Also, you mention "I then silicone the hatch assemblies back to the kayak." I'm not sure what you mean by "hatch assemblies" exactly... Do you mean that you took the original OEM rubber seal and siliconed it back in place in its original groove on the bottom of the hatch? Please explain... thanks.

I'd like to see photos if you have them of the repair on the lid to the bait tank too, or perhaps you could expand on what you did there? Did you use the same weatherseal product there too, or did you choose something a little bit wider? (looks like the product in the photo says it "Fills Medium Gaps 1/8" - 5/16") My bait tank lid leaks as well. If I choose to use it for dry storage and not use it for bait... forget it... everything ends up floating in water in there after a while anyway... frustrating.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

- Ken