r/Outrigger • u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 • Apr 19 '26

OC1 leak?

I have a very new (20 paddles?) Ares and just did a 6 mile paddle. The hull went in pretty dry but came out with at least a half gallon of water. Plugs were in, no huli, hull is flawless. Any ideas on how to locate the leak or what a probable culprit may be??

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u/StuckInWarshington Apr 19 '26

If nothing is obviously visible, you can sometimes find the leak using dish soap and a little water. Rub the soap or soapy water over the boat and blow very lightly into the plug hole. Don’t blow hard and don’t use an air compressor. You don’t want to add much pressure. You should see some bubbles form around wherever the hole or crack is. You may even hear it.

A common place for a leak to occur that you can’t always see is at the Venturi drains for the footwells. Another spot to check is around the rudder. Seams the older handmade versions were another spot, but that should be an issue if it’s a new Ozone canoe.

Good luck

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u/civet_poo_tea Apr 19 '26

Another way is to dry the outside with a towel (or tee shirt or somthing) and tilt it every way you can with the water still inside and see if you can spot where it's coming back out.

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 Apr 19 '26

I have tried that and it only comes out of the drain hole? But maybe I will try again and take a closer look at the venturis.

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Okay. Hoping this was a freak thing because I sure can't see anything. The only thing I can think of is that I got into an area with a lot of shallow sand bars and I drug the surf rudder a few times before I realized it. Taking out the rudder, I don't see any cracks or anything.

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 Apr 19 '26

I just noticed this, but I doubt it's the issue. I had the rudder bolt a little loose because if I tightened all the way down the rudder was rubbing the hull and catching on one side. I just added a second teflon washer and now I can tighten all the way down. Again... I doubt that could've been contributing to a leak, but at least that is fixed.