People frequently ask me about hatches and bulkheads in skin-on-frame kayaks. Having gone down this road many years ago I concluded that the time and effort involved is a bit of a mismatch to the simplicity of skin-on-frame. I’m not against hatches, I just think they make more sense in rigid kayaks. It is true, however, that a skinboat with float bags takes on a lot more water in a rescue scenario. For me this isn’t enough to justify the additional complexity, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done!
The following modifications to my F2 kayak design were sent to me by Peter of South Australia who has built 3 of my kayaks and paddles them often with his wife. (In their 70’s!)
I’m so impressed by the creativity and technical execution of his installation here that I thought I’d share this for anyone thinking about going down the same path. Also pictured are Peters electric bilge pump and skeg.
Electric bilge pumps are common in kayaks in Australia and they work very well, adding additional safety.
Keep in mind, if you try this you must do it WELL, because if a bulkhead or hatch seal fails, you will end up in a MUCH worse situation than if you just had float bags, because there will be no way to get the water out.
You can find Peter’s complete installation description along with more images in his blog on our Student Builds page.
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This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.
See the original post and discussion here.
