Sit on top kayak taking in water

pete4130

I bought myself a Point 65 Tequila tandem kayak last weekend. If you aren't familiar it's a modular sit on top Kayak that can be used as a solo or tandem (inserting or removing the mid section piece).

I live in a small place so this design suits my needs for storage, transport.

I noticed when I took it out last weekend for the first time last weekend the mid section took on some water. Each section does have a drain plug and I assumed it might not have been tightened properly. This weekend I made sure it was tight, went out on the water and it leaked again.

When I got it home I removed the drain plug and filled it with some water. I couldn't see any physical leaks from the seams on the hull of the mid section at all but water was leaking out of the drain plug hole. I checked the drain plugs from the leaking section compared to the front and rear sections. They all look identical and no damage to the drain plug in the leaking section.

I'm yet to try one of the other drain plugs in the mid section to fully rule out a bad drain plug.

Is there any way I can fix this leak as it seems the threads for the drain plug are causing the problem? PTFE tape or is there anything else I can use?

I bought it from a shop about 3 hour drive from me (living in Sydney these days) and would prefer to fix it myself rather than make the drive, get the mid section sent off/warrantied/repaired and possibly wait months to get it back as stock is very low over here.

sconhome

With sit on tops you'd generally pull the plugs out to let water drain when you are moving. The only time I've left them in is on pancake flat water when there is no swell to let water out.

Edit http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2010/11/the-truth-about-scupper-plugs/

There's a cool idea mentioned in the comments about making a one way valve set up.

Grudaire

Well that sounds like a very dangerous suggestion

As a general rule never ever go with the bung out in any water sport.

You can't use traditional approaches because you need the bung to open again. Of it's only taking on a small bit of water then just let the water out on every break you take.
However you can try use plumbing tape or wax when tightening the plug, it's likely that there's not a great seal and it might make the difference.

pete4130

Like I said, It's a modular design. Each section has a drain plug and can't be left out.

I've emailed the company based in Sweden and they agree the drain plug hole is leaking. Next step is to try different drain plugs in the mid section to see if it still leaks.

I'm trying PTFE tape tomorrow to see if that solves it if its just one drain plug thats the problem.

I've attached a photo of the design.

pullandbang

Grudaire wrote: »

As a general rule never ever go with the bung out in any water sport.

Nonsense. I use a SOT all the time both on lakes and at sea for fishing and I don't even own a bung. All my scuppers are left open all the time to allow natural drainage.

pete4130

The scuppers are open. The drain plugs are for each section of the kayak. Each section is a hollow, watertight (meant to be) section that lock together.

My mid section drain plug seems to be letting the water in.

sconhome

pete4130 wrote: »

My mid section drain plug seems to be letting the water in.

Got you.

Lashings of PTFE should sort it out without making it impossible to remove or threading the plug.

Another option is can you get O-rings that will fit the plug that will give a seal when you wind it in?

pete4130

I figured it out on the end. The amount of water the drain plug was letting in was minimal compared to the amount of water in the hull. I swapped out drain plugs and that seems to solve the problem.
I noticed the big problem was the fishing rod holders (it's the angler model). They are mounted to the top of the hull with screws and then resin/epoxy used to seal it. It isn't sealed properly at all. Contacted the rep and getting new midsection shipped out to me and the old one collected.