Cardiff Sat 4/17

[dsafety]

Did a leak test. My Revo is watertight below the normal water line. I am fairly sure my main leak source is the front hatch. I run the fish finder cables over the gasket and am sure that I do not get a very good seal there as a result.

Fongman has a good point as well. I was totally submerged many times as I tried to make it through the relentless surf. The rudder cable holes are always open and this day they were underwater quite a bit.

For those who have adopted my transducer wet mount idea, I have some news to report on that front as well. All the pounding, which probably also included some significant hull flexing caused the goop holding down my well to spring a leak. It was not a big leak but I found that if I pressed on the well, I could force some water out.

I removed the unit and re-attached it to the hull. This time I made sure that there was a 3/4" wide, thin layer of goop, applied like caulk surrounding the ABS pipe on the outside.

It is probably a good idea to frequently check the integrity of the bond between the plastic pipe and the hull along with making sure that there is water in the well.

Bob

[j mo]

Bummer Bob......

[-scallywag-]

I agree that the front hatch doesn't seal all that well, especially if you run your FF lines over it. On choppy days where water is consistantly washing over the front hatch I have to pump my boat out once or twice, on days when there is no water coming over the bow, my boat is dry. In rough conditions it helps to have your weight as far back as possible (raise the bait tank level, put the cooler on the back, exc..).

The hatch O-ring can get sticky and are sometimes removed, if that o-ring is missing in choppy conditions you will take on a lot of water.

As for the rudder control holes, they aren't much of a problem for the single seat hobies because unless your very close to the max weight. Even the Hobie outback tandem, when fished solo and the rudder holes are fully submerged most of the time, you only take on about a gallon an hr....

Bottom line is CARRY A HAND BILGE PUMP !!!!...and a big sponge, and if your boat starts feeling heavy, check it.

[Billy V]

Bob,

I always carry 2 grout sponges, the good ones from home depot. They absorb a large volume of water.

Place one inside the center hatch it will absorb any water that passes into the hull and can be rung out easily.

The other sponge is for mopping up under the seat after surf launching, and cleaning my bloody deck.

Billy

[thien]

However this is how I solved mine. I've had the same issue with my Revo, and the leaky front hatch. The black gasket from the front hatch was not sealing sufficiently, therefore every time the bow would punch through the wave while launching, a annoying amount of h2o would get inside the hull. Went to Home Depot and invested 6.00 for weather sealing foam with 3m, and now only have a few drops of water that get through, even after taking a few to the chest. Left a little gap for my fish finder cables as well. This completely sealed the front hatch with the black hobie gasket, and has stayed in place.