Re: mea culpa

Posted by Tony Calvert on Jun 25, 2004

I think hatches are just about more trouble than they are worth, but if you want something more than a day kayak they are a necessary evil. I have never been able to understand the CLC way of doing things works, so I ignored it and used the ribs as per the original hatches. I've used 3 braces on the front hatches, as the middle of the hatch flexed a little and didn't match the shape of the deck. I have found that even with 3 braces under the hatch they tend to change shape a little on a hot day if they are left off the kayak but they return to the desired shape from the strength of the magnets (in my case) when fitted back on the kayak.

A strip decked hybrid like Kurts seems like a whole lot easier way of getting flush hatches to me. I'll investigate it one day by building a hybrid but for now I have a few planks in the garage for a SOF Greenlander.

The pictures of the way I went about things may help clarify any questions you may have.

Cheers Tony

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/acalvert/images/fhatch1.jpg

My Kayak Site

In Response to: mea culpa by LeeG on Jun 25, 2004

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