Future Beach Fusion 124 Kayak

This one tip was so important, I had to create its own page!

Future Beach Fusion 124 Kayak

I got this kayak at Dick's Sporting Goods in the summer of 2014. The plan was to get kayaks for the family and it's a one time cost that just keeps on paying off every time we go as an inexpensive fun thing to do with the family. It has definitely paid off! We use the multiple times a year and they have held up really well. I store them outside but under a tarp. Apparently the sun is what makes plastic brittle over time. I thought temperature changes could ruin them too, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. I do winterize them in the sense that I stand them on end, cover the hulls with plastic, then cover the whole mess in a big tarp. The covering the hull is more to keep bugs and animals from getting in the spring and fall before we get them out to use. During the summer months, I just stack them on each other and cover them with a tarp.

The First Problem: Lost Drain Plug

So, the Future Beach Fusion 124 has a screw in drain plug that has the plastic piece on the end to make sure it can never fully come out of the hole. This worked well for a while, until one time I think I transported the one kayak with the plug unscrewed. At some point something dragged across the plug, pulled it out, and lost it forever. When you're just paddling around in a calm lake or a slow shower stream, the lack of the plug isn't really a big deal since the drain is located on the top of the kayak at the one end. But, if it gets choppy at all and water ever goes over the back of the kayak, over time, you could take on some serious water. So, I determined the plug needed to be replaced.

The Second Problem: Where Do You Get One?

It seemed simple enough, just go to the website and order a replacement, right? Wrong! I could find only one site that guaranteed a threaded cap that would fit in a Future Beach kayak preexisting drain hole. It didn't say specifically the Fusion 124. It was quite vague about that, and it cost around $15 with shipping. The only thing left to do was order some from sites with good return policies (of course I'm talking about Amazon here) and hope one of them fits.

Do NOT Try This One... It Won't Fit

I ordered this with the intention of just using one of the plugs from the two pack and just screwing it into my kayak's drain hole... At the time it was only $7 for a two pack, but it was still cheaper than any others I found that could get to me quick since I had a kayaking trip coming up fast. I was hoping there was some sort of standard that most kayaks stuck to and that's why I couldn't find specifics on the internet. I was wrong... it didn't fit. I promptly returned them. Thank goodness amazon has free returns on most stuff now.

Conclusion

So, now you know what drain plug you can get that will fit. I wish there was a database or at least some sort of grid out on the internet stating model numbers or something, but I guess when you get a cheap kayak from Dick's, this is the kind of support you can expect...