Nearly sank the yak..

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Digger
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by Digger »

My first Outback had a leak and was cut up into little bits by the dealer. Same symptoms, hull full of water and what tipped me off was that it handled like crap, wallowed a bit.
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laneends
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by laneends »

Got into the habit now of shortly after launching of opening the hatch and taking a peak just to make sure everything is as it should be as precaution against any leaks for any reason. I also had a leaky drive well in previous yak. :thumbsup:

The other dumb thing I did a couple of times was leave rear hatch open when I used to use it to lift off trolley. Couldn't reach it to close it on the Adventure. Now I have a lifting strap fitted and have stuck safety flag on hatch lid so its obvious.
BoTangles
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by BoTangles »

Hi laneends. Good of you to share your story. Have done something similar with a Fishabout tinny.(I know - I know but I've only just got the YAK and have only 4 trips under the belt) Water seeped in through the bung plug as it was not sealed properly (a large chunk of crap in the thread) After about 5 hours, we landed a 6 KG snapper (from the Boulton Channel WP) and had only just got another 4.2 KG snapper when the bilge pump started spewing out copious amounts of water. Cold sweat developing and had to make a long dash back to Tooradin as the mud banks were exposed at low tide. DOH I can understand the feeling of dread you felt. Maybe you could place a red small slice of plastic to it like the aircraft do to their parts that need checking during pre flight or, as I have just done, make a comprehensive pre departure check list and laminate it. I use a texta to tick stuff off and then just rub it off for the next trip's checking. Truly got over leaving one thing or another behind too :x Anyhow, it's good to get this first post done. Sincerely. BoTangles of WP :-)
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Hvalross
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by Hvalross »

Great reminder Keith.... thanks!
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chrisw
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by chrisw »

I was thinking about the topic of water in the yak the other day ... given how much the PA14 can carry, in calm water you could have a fair bit in there and just not know if it sprang a leak or a plug was not installed or something.

While it's fair to say it's not something that would happen very often, on the flip side jaycar has a water leakage alarm for only $8 (https://www.jaycar.com.au/water-leakage-alarm/p/LA5163). While the head unit wouldn't be waterproof, I guess it could be stuck in a dry bag or even sealed in a plastic bag with some marine goop for where the wire comes out. Seems pretty cheap for some peace of mind.
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laneends
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by laneends »

You are going to get some water in there at times for varies non serious reasons so a leak detector would nuisance trip. I prefer just not having a bucket in the central hatch that I open regularly as i store my tackle in bottom of hull, and soon see any surplus water. Otherwise first sign will be instability, especially in choppy conditions.
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chrisw
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by chrisw »

laneends wrote:You are going to get some water in there at times for varies non serious reasons so a leak detector would nuisance trip.
I don't disagree with the point that some water will get it but given the positioning of the sensor is an installation choice it would be easy to set it at a level that would only sound if there was a more than insignificant amount of water present. Whether that would make it useful or not I can't say. I guess I may as well grab one and see if it is more trouble than it's worth.
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by vicyak »

I've filled the PA14 once 100% (not by choice) Didn't sink. I wasn't on the yak and I'm sure if I was it probably would have. I heard of others also putting empty coke bottles in the hull as well to aid bouyancy.
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by laneends »

vicyak wrote:I've filled the PA14 once 100% (not by choice) Didn't sink. I wasn't on the yak and I'm sure if I was it probably would have. I heard of others also putting empty coke bottles in the hull as well to aid bouyancy.
Wherever i am not using in hull for storage is full of noodles. so wouldn't end up on the bottom, but would be no more use than a floating buoy to hang on to
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Re: Nearly sank the yak..

Post by BoTangles »

As a matter of interest, the company that did a yak demo with me prior to purchasing a PA 14 had installed full sized auto bilge pumps in all the hire / demo models !
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