Leaky Delphin Day Hatch

[Carpcon]

Hi all, Does anyone have a method of sealing the day hatch on my delphin which leaks from the inside i.e during rescues or wet exits, the built in plastic tray rivetted to the underside of the top deck does not seal at all to these elements and cost me my car electric key fob this weekend grrrr, has anyone done a repair job on this very poor offering from P&H, or heard of a solution???

[Graham T]

Sorry to hear about your car key fob, so this is not to be a smart ass at all. If wearing a dry suit my key is hung around my neck on a line permanently attached it also helps make sure I never lose it ! If not wearing a dry suit I always use an Aqua pack as insurance when leaving it in my day hatch none of which leak.
Perhaps speak to P&H I have heard their customer service is top notch even if you then choose to sort it yourself for convenience

[Kayaks'N'Beer]

If not wearing a dry suit I always use an Aqua pack as insurance when leaving it in my day hatch none of which leak.

Couldn't agree more. I always assume my hatches will leak. Half of them do now. Or that I'll forget to close them properly, which I do regularly, especially the day hatch which I often forget to close after I've been in there to pull out my fags. So anything that is required to stay dry gets bagged or boxed in something waterproof before going in. I know I shouldn't need to do this, in an ideal world all hatches would remain hermetically seal-able forever but this is the real world and sometimes they don't.

Coincidentally this is the same reason I don't wear a dry suit, favouring semi dry with neoprene baselayers - I'm going to get wet but it'll be on my terms, unlike what happens when a gasket fails on your kokatat and your last thought before you freeze to death is - "I'd have been as well leaving it at home and just wearing my speedo's!"

[spawneydave]

I had exactly the same exsperience, I am going to drill the rivets out & sykaflex it before bolting it on. to be honest I like the boat but the finishing was rubbish. my footrest was even fitten upside down

[Carpcon]

Cheers for the info, agreed a perfect numpty for leaving my keys in it, I have contacted P&H, and await their response, this is a common problem and I decided to tackle it head on last night, drilled the rivets out and had a good look at the problem, a foam tape is fixed to the pod thing, this tape runs over the dimples with which it engages the top deck, I cut the tape from the dimples as this is acting to hold the unsecured parts away from the deck, I then used silkaflex (black mastic) and loaded it heavily to the flat parts between the fixings, paying particular attention to the part closest to the foot pegs as this was where the most water was coming in, and where, with a mirror you can see a daylight gap. I then SS bolted the pod back to the deck and put some plastic nut covers on also with a slodge of silkaflex, I then supported the in between bits with an array of packers/supports to hold them as close to the top deck as possible. Heres hoping,

I think it is particulary poor of P&H to not address this problem further as many scorpio owners report the same problem. great boat though. I have taken some pictures if anyone wants a look but I am not sure how to post them lol

[Carpcon]

Further from my previous post, I have filled the pod with water and it is now completly watertight, come on P&H this is an easy thing to sort out and it should be done by you, not the paying customer!!!!

[spawneydave]

by coincidence I did exactly the same today, I am confident that it will solve the problem but P&H should be embarresed that the customer needs to rebuild there boats to make them fit for purpose,

[Ade Mould]

Don't forget a little bit of rubber hose can cover the 'saw tooth' part of a car key, if you don't have a folding one. It stops it cutting itself out of the dry bag...

[Carpcon]

Brilliant well if we independantly sorted it out P&H should be suitably shamed, incidenyly I tested it by filling the pod with water and leaving it overnight, Cheers

[davekayaker]

I have just purchased x2 scopios and have the same problem with the front day hatch, they both completely fill with water when practicing self rescue. I have sent a few mails to P & H and await their reply. My local kayaking outlet is offering me new hatch covers and a presure test. But im confident I have the same issue i.e leaking from the pod itself.

[heybaz]

I never for one moment thought that the "pod" in my Scorpio was meant to be dry given the fact that I can see daylight between it and the deck. The black gunky tape did make a right mess on my dry trousers though.

Do P&H suggest that these things are meant to be watertight?

[soundoftheseagull]

I have come to the conclusion that the rear hatches are designed to be closed by the Hulk, or other non mortals