Good fix on a Warped Hatch E-mail
Written by Pychet Tep   
Tuesday, 30 December 2014 23:21

Anyone else have this problem? Northern California kayak angler Pychet Tep aka "Chet" found his hatch was warped, and the boat taking on water.  Here's his straightforward fix:

 

Kayak: 2009 Tarpon 140

Problem: It leaks when wave wash over the front hatch. Got about 1/2-3/4 gallon of H20 every trip.

I thought the foam seal was too old and well compressed. Thought I would order a new foam and problem will be gone. I was wrong. It turned out the hatch is warped. (How? I don't know). One thing I do know if the sun can change the shape of the hatch, I can bring it back by using heat too. 

Use this as a guide if anyone has the same problem.

Before 1

  1 before1

 Before 2

2 before2

Before 3

3 before3

Align and clamp.

4 process1

Bring heat gun to 1000F

5process 2

 

Apply heat evenly and slowly. 

After 1

6after1

After 2

7 after2

After 3

8 after3

I have used the kayak about 4 times now after repair. It only let water in about 3oz on one trip, where waves kept rolling over.

 

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