I must have a slow leak in my kayak. When I pulled it out of the water last night after about 3 hours of fishing/paddling, there about a liter or two of water in the hull. It was windy and splashing quite a bit to be sure, but it's a Native Manta Ray SOT and it shouldn't have let much in.

I looked over the hull and couldn't see any sure sign of the leak. Any tips on how I can find the leak and patch it up?

Have a friend use a flashlight on the scuppers while you look through the hatches, obviously best done at night.

If that doesn't work. place her on the driveway or wooden deck and start filling her up.

is this the used yak u just bought?


find where its leaking 1st.
do what neumie suggest or put it in a swimming pool or lake and have your friend sit in it when its dry inside.
look inside, should be able to see it leaking. most yaks get a little water in them when it choppy though.

Make sure drain plugs were in and have o-rings around them

Ditto Neumie

The leak in my spare was a crack inside a scupper

Yeah. I'm not really that surprised, but I'm hoping A. It's fixable, and B, that it won't cost a ton to fix it. I need this rig to last a couple years before I can upgrade to something else. I've been out 3 times in it and the addiction has already taken hold.

Does it have a rudder?
If not and the screw holes
are not plugged, will leak there.

Plastic welding is fairly easy and inexpensive, if you aren't comfortable doing it most kayaks shops will do it for a reasonable fee or you can talk to someone on here that knows the ropes and they will most likely offer a helping hand.

aris at mariner sails fixed a small crack in mine. did good job

Can't thank you guys enough for all the input! Great bunch of folks on this forum.

I put mine up on chairs over concrete, and stuck a hose in the hatch I pretty quickly realized where my crack was, it was a leaky scupper

Found the leak. Actually leaks. One in a scupper, one in the hull right beside a different scupper. And I also found a huge crack in the top under the seat. I hope I can find a way to support it so that it doesn't lead to any more leaks. The small crack in the hull is directly under the cracks under the seat.

If I can get it fixed pretty cheap, it will still have been a good deal, but this is a cautionary tale.... it is NOT rude to go over a product with a fine toothed comb right in front of someone if they are trying to sell it to you. I wish I would have.

Wow, that seat crack looks bad!

Hope it is repairable buddy

I am no expert but I would take it to Mariner Sails and have Aris and Mike look at it, to me it looks like it can be repaired and if it were mine I would have someone with more experience than me do it.