Brian,

Many thanks. I will try this first and only consider glass work as a
last resort. BTW, I have no complaints about this boat (which was used
when I bought it) despite this minor problem. I have paddled maybe 8 or
10 different touring boats, and this one is by far my favorite --
extremely fast, great secondary stability, tracks well, and very
comfortable.

Dan


Brian Nystrom wrote the following on 9/12/2005 11:25 PM:
Dan Koretz wrote:

I have an Impex Assateague, and the front hatch has a small leak.
Impex uses Valley rubber hatch covers. I can't pinpoint it for sure,
but I think it is leaking where the gasket on the bottom is fixed to
the fiberglass, not where the rubber cover fits over the gasket. I
was thinking of trying to fix this by putting a very thin bead of
silicone caulk along the edge where the gasket meets the body of the
boat. The dealer says it might require a minor fiberglass repair.
Anyone have any experience fixing this sort of thing?

The first thing you need to do is find the exact location of the leak.
This is usually pretty easy if you partially fill the compartment with
water, then roll the boat around until it drips out somewhere. DO NOT
USE SILICONE SEALER to repair the leak. It bonds poorly and leaves a
silicone residue that prevents anything else from bonding to the surface
until you clean it off using hexane, which is difficult to find. Use a
good sealer like Lexel, 3M 4200/5300, Sikaflex or one of the GOOP
products (any of them will work, as they're all the same). Unless the
leak is caused by structural damage or a poorly bonded hatch ring, it's
unlikely that you'll need to do any fiberglass repair.