Leaky Boat - Finally diagnosed

[mo2vation]

I bought a couple of boats (Prowler 15's - the newest at the time) from Allen's several years ago.

My wife's boat is dry - mine was leaking. Badly.

Badly.

I live in LA - so I made the haul back down to SD to Allen's and OK replaced it.

The new one leaks, too - but it leaks less than the original.

Wife's boat is still bone dry. I'm a little bitter about that, but I'll get over it some day.





Fast forward 5 years or so to present day. I'm doing more long touring, and spending more time on the water (diving from the boat now, etc.) and I'm not comfortable about the amount of water and I'm taking on.

After reading through several excellent posts here I decided this weekend to give it a go and see if I can find the darn leak. Of course, the scuppers are the first suspects.

I rack the boat and put several inches of water in it. Nada. I decide to move the boat to more sturdy supports (saw horses) so I can put in more water - and as I move it, the water tips to the stern.

And now one of the rear scuppers is leaking.

Really leaking.


This looks like a trickle - its really pretty bad



Its coming out pretty good now




This puddle is after only about 2 minutes or so. Imagine 3 hours...



The leak is way up there - where the two halves of the boat come together. No way to get the traditional welding tools up in there.

My local OK dealer recommended that I bead and tool some Lexel into the area where the leak is occurring (he said about a 1/8" bead should do.) It's easy to see how this happened - the halves of the scupper holes don't line up well (understatement) and there's a leak. I can't see daylight as its the smallest and deepest scupper on the whole boat (tank well.)

I got the snot in there, tooled into place and its curing now. I'll check it out when I get home tonight. I'll get the boat in the water Tuesday night after work - just a paddle around Marina Del Rey for an hour. I'll know if it worked when I get back to shore, and I'll post a note here.

This forum is the best. I love Kayak fisherman - they consistently show themselves to be the smartest, most savvy, most MacGyverest, most hard core, finest SOT kayakers on the planet. I'd rather spend 10 minutes talking with a Kayak Fisherman than an hour speaking with some over-educated, under-experienced, multi-color, pretty smelling, sunny day perfectly coiffed club paddler.

You guys rule.

Thx


-Ken

[Jimmyz123]

If that doesn't work you may want to look into installing a small bilge pump. I've thought about that with mine just in case, but haven't made the jump yet.

[mo2vation]

Originally Posted by Jimmyz123

If that doesn't work you may want to look into installing a small bilge pump. I've thought about that with mine just in case, but haven't made the jump yet.

Before the pump I'll stuff the foam practice golf balls into there from the bottom. They work great in keeping water out of the seat scuppers - I'm sure they'd significantly slow (and possibly eliminate) the on-take of water, as well.

Fingers crossed the snot works. Lexel is nasty stuff that is super gooey. I'm pretty confident it will grab hold. It just depends on if I slathered it onto the right place.

I marked the drip location with a sharpie as best as I could.

We'll see tomorrow night when I beach it and tip it.

Looking for a "drip drip" not a "slosh slosh"





-K

[old_rookie]

I was going to suggest that, but more of joke...
I thought kayaks were a single formed piece and not two halves welded together - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckN8Ot6lWRE - but not all kayaks are made the same way.

[mo2vation]

Originally Posted by old_rookie

I was going to suggest that, but more of joke...
I thought kayaks were a single formed piece and not two halves welded together - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckN8Ot6lWRE - but not all kayaks are made the same way.

The OK's are roto-molded, I believe. Just like what the vid probably shows.

There was a period of several years when their scuppers didn't line up. Its wacky, I know - but true. Serious leak points. A buddy just bought a new old-stock red Scupper Pro TW - and you look into the scuppers and they're not at all lining up (her's is bone dry, tho...)

Roto-molding isn't perfect. There will be times when the fill isn't distributed evenly, inconsistencies in flow, etc. Some people have reported leaks in the most unexpected places.

I just got unlucky twice.

-K

[old_rookie]

In that case, it could be the two halves of the molds that don't line up very well. I wonder if you could put a sleeve down in the scupper with a bunch of marine goop on the outside of the sleeve before sticking it in (sounds wrong) - it would make the opening of the scupper smaller, but if the leaks stop who cares.

[Iceman]

With pin holes in the scupper I like to hit inside and out if possible with marine goop after completely drying and possibly scuffing the surface with 80 grit sand paper.

Too hard to weld.

[mo2vation]

Originally Posted by Iceman

With pin holes in the scupper I like to hit inside and out if possible with marine goop after completely drying and possibly scuffing the surface with 80 grit sand paper.

Too hard to weld.

Thanks, Ice.

The only hatch I have on the Prowler 15 is the bow hatch... no way I can reach back to the TW.

I roughed up the inside of the scupper from the outside of the boat ( ) and slathered in a fine cylinder of the Lexel snot.

We'll see.

I'm feeling pretty good about it. It was a substantial leak, but it was only in one place. Shouldn't be too hard to knock it down.

I'm taking the boat up to the Sierras this weekend for opener - so I'll be on stupid water for long hours. I'll know more tomorrow and likely give it another coat before I leave on Thursday night.

-K

[Jimmyz123]

Good luck, I hope is all works out for you.

[Iceman]

The first test I do on a kayak that comes in for a leak test is plug the scupper and fill it with water. If the water level drops there is a pin hole. Most if not all major manufacturers have struggled with pin holes where the 2 pieces of the mold come together in scuppers. Malibu has been retooling their molds, having them come together at the top now instead of midway down. Better quality control through better design.

[mo2vation]

Originally Posted by Iceman

The first test I do on a kayak that comes in for a leak test is plug the scupper and fill it with water. If the water level drops there is a pin hole. Most if not all major manufacturers have struggled with pin holes where the 2 pieces of the mold come together in scuppers. Malibu has been retooling their molds, having them come together at the top now instead of midway down. Better quality control through better design.

Great idea. Also makes it easier for you dealers to get in there with and weld up any issues - as I'm confident all if not nearly all of the leaky scuppers are at the seam and not on the tube.

Welding that seam would be a no brainer.

Super design improvement - moving the seam out of the center.

Nice.

-Ken

[dsafety]

I have not tried this as a way to fix a leak in a scupper but I bet it would work.

Find a piece of plastic tubing that fits snugly into your scupper hole. rough up the plastic, (both the scupper and the tubing), and generously coat with sealant, such as Goop, and shove the tube into the scupper. When everything as set up, seal the top and bottom edges of the tubing to the hull, (depending on the plastic you use, you might even be able to weld the tube to the kayak).

Your scupper hole would be smaller but it would be stronger and should not leak.

Just a thought.

Bob

[Jimmyz123]

Originally Posted by dsafety

I have not tried this as a way to fix a leak in a scupper but I bet it would work.

Find a piece of plastic tubing that fits snugly into your scupper hole. rough up the plastic, (both the scupper and the tubing), and generously coat with sealant, such as Goop, and shove the tube into the scupper. When everything as set up, seal the top and bottom edges of the tubing to the hull, (depending on the plastic you use, you might even be able to weld the tube to the kayak).

Your scupper hole would be smaller but it would be stronger and should not leak.

Just a thought.

Bob

Just like redoing the pipes at home. Good call here.

[mo2vation]

So I did the Lexel slather up the scupper tube. Let it cure since Monday.

Tonight I went out, flipped the boat and duct taped up the bottom of the scupper.



Flipped the boat back up, then I poured in a cup or so of water - up to the top and over the scupper. I let it sit.




I come inside. The Dodgers have tied it!

I go back out - still holding!

I come inside. Dodgers are playing like peewee leaguers.

I go back out - still holding!

Dinner comes. I grind. Watch the Lakers pull away from the mighty OKC Thunder.

I go back out (like 90 minutes later)... STILL HOLDING!


I think this is fixed. I'm pretty excited.

I'm going for an early AM paddle on Thursday on the way to the office. Gotta get the new paddle wet. Gotta check the scup.

Thanks for the tips, guys. This may have worked!


-K