Water in my boat
 

On my recent day-long trip out on the bay, i felt like the boat was a little heavy and had a little list. When I got back, sure enough, I had about 20 gallons (~160 lbs) in the hull of my PA 14.

now, it did get windy, and half the navy did go by including the Stennis, so i did get a lot of waves over the bow...but my fish hold only had a couple gallons in it.

I was running my bait tank, which doesn't always drain straight out the scupper, but my battery in the back hatch wasn't full of water, so i don't "THINK" it went in that way....

Anybody end up with water in their yak on a PA? Got any ideas how to track this down? I'm thinking about the following:

• close the back hatch and run the garden hose in there for an hour to see if anything gets into the hull
• put the boat in the pool for a couple days and see if any water comes in through some undected hole in the hull
• ???

Ideas? Things to check? I know these things hold 600 pounds, but I'm 230 and I'm sure we're up to 400 with bait tank, batteries, gear and beer... i really don't want to carry any extra balast.

Thanks!

I'd inspect the drive well thoroughly. Inside and out, stick your head inside the boat and really look for a crack. If you had yor hatch liner in water from the front hatch shouldn't of leaked into the hull. Another thought might be your back round hatch has a leak and your tank was just draining into it. And finally make sure your drain plugs were in, and tight.

And for "testing" I would hook up the air compressor with a really low amount of pressure and look for possible air escaping. Should be able to rig some sorta hose and duct tape contraption to the drain plug.

Also check your scupper hole posts. They can crack especially if you use wheels that go thru the the scupper holes.

Yes.

My new Outback was picking up a lot of water fast when I was in waves or rough water. I took it to Fastlane and Ron investigated by hooking up an air hose to the drain plug in the back. Then he took a spray bottle with dish soap and started systematically spraying down the entire boat.

When he got to my front hatch, his spray bottle started splattering/spitting bubbles. That was the source of the leak from waves coming over my bow. It's because the hatch cover was not seating down properly onto the rubber hatch seal.

I asked Ron where these things usually give way -- he said it can be anywhere depending on what caused the damage, but as the two posts above pointed out, he said it can often be around the drive attachment area and the scupper holes. Rather than guess, he said he just sprays everything with dish soap and goes from there. Cracks in the plastic can be hard to see if they are in awkward places.

well, i solved part of the mystery. I closed the back hatch, plugged the scupper holes and put the hose in the back where the bait tank would be.

10 minutes later i had about an inch of water in the boat! :eek:

So....there's that. Guess i will need a new gasket or something...

I will do the air hose trick too just to see if there is anything else, but Ocham's Razor says I may have found the problem. Anybody fixed a leaky back hatch? Time to go search the "share your innovation" thread....

Try the dish soap spray. If it's the back hatch, it will be obvious. Find out what part of the hatch. Maybe you can fix it. Otherwise, it's easy to replace.

Make sure there are not other leaks before you start welding plastic or replacing things.

Are you still under warranty?

I'm the second owner, and its a 2012, so pretty sure I'm not under any warranty. Tomorrow I'll fill it back up and use the air to see if it leaks at the gasket (should be easy fix) or at the point there the hatch mounts to the hull (less easy, but still just silicone).

Meanwhile, I'll check all the places people suggested for cracks... hopefully none of that, but i'm expecting its just the hatch.

I suppose I could put a short tube on the bait tank drain that would go down in the scupper and I would get rid of most of the problem.

in case anyone cares....

$8 at the local Hobie dealer got me a new o-ring seal for the 8" hatch. Also, made a new drain pipe for the bait tank out of some flexible tubing. Now I can adjust the water height in the tank and there is a bit sticking out the bottom to go into the scupper and make sure the water actually leaves the boat instead of pooling up in that back compartment.

This adventure has made me consider an electric bilge pump...I carry a manual one, but it would be hard to drive and pump at the same time.

Anyway, problem solved and nothing as serious as a crack.

Tight lines!

The older PA's are prone to crack in the seating area. Make sure you check it out thoroughly.


http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...obiecrack2.jpg

http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/...obiecrack1.jpg

Forgot about that one! I just got a 2015 PA because of the same crack on my 2012.

oh my....well, we'll be looking for that for sure!

I did notice I had a little bit of bottom deformation from sitting on the trailer...but I don't think I have any water coming in below the water line... I could see the waterfall inside the hull from that back hatch before.

Anybody actually have an electric bilge pump in the hull? Just in case?