I used latex caulk that I got at my local hardware store. After I got my kayak in the water, I discovered a few leaks and applied more caulk until the bulkheads stopped leaking.

I paddle about once a week and I noticed that some of it has pealed away recently, so I'm just going to go buy another tube and fill in the gap. It's a bit of a sticky mess to work with, but it's worked for me. 

   I hesitate to mention this, because it's not about the bulkheads per se, but I didn't want to put hatches in my Petral, either. But I have found them invaluable. First, they really make it easier to get the two halves together.  In fact, if I make another kayak, I'll install a small access hatch forward so I can reach in and make sure the tape is in place in the bow. I put my aft hatch far back enough to install or maintain a skeg (which I haven't put in) and so I was able to use that hatch to reach back and push the tape in place in the stern.

I also use the hatches to insert two large NRS air bladders. They give me great comfort of mind when I'm out in the ocean. They also give me access to my foam bulkheads so I can repair any leaks...which I'm going to do this weekend. After every paddle, I pull the hatches, spray the interior with fresh water, drain and then hang the kayak to dry.

The hatches as designed in the plans and instructions don't leak hardly at all.

Just a thought. Good luck.

  At the risk of adding a third message, I went back and read your first post...

I measured and cut my bulkheads using the nearest form to where I was going to put them (right behind the cockpit and right in front of my foot brace.) I just pushed the form behind the cockpit in place and then put latex caulk around the edges...no problem. However, for the piece in front of my feet, I first installed the tracks that the foot  braces fit into. I then estimated and cut grooves into the sides of the bulkhead to fit around the tracks. I could not get the bulkhead in place in once piece, so I cut it horizontally in half and then wedged the two pieces in. Then I caulked the front bulkhead.

I was making this up  as I went along. Perhaps someone else has a better scheme. As far as I'm concerned, the chief purpose of the bulkheads is so that if you get knocked out of your cockpit and your kayak fills with water, after you do a cowboy reentry or a paddle float entry, you have as little water as possible in your cockpit. The more water, the more unstable your kayak and the more likely you'll end up in the soup again. So put those bulkheads as close together around the cockpit as possible.

Hope I'm not being a pest. Cheers.

Thanks for all your replies Careybob.  I guess I can always add some hatches later if it's too much of a pain not having them.  I really like the look of the kayak without any bungees or ropes or whatever on the outside of it.  Once I start using it I may change my mind and go ahead and add them.  After posting I spoke with a kayaker at work and he asked if I couldn't apply the adhesive to the inside of the kayak instead of to the outside of the foam.    I felt a little stupid for not thinking of that myself.  Anyhow, I'll try that out.  One of my concerns about not having hatches, which you touched on, is that not having them will make it difficult for the inside of the  kayak to dry out fully.  Not sure if just the cockpit will be enough.  This is my first kayak and first kayak build, so I'll see how it goes.  Thanks again for your suggestions.  

   A 19' kayak is going to be a handfull to get a hold of if you end up in the water with one free hand (one will be holding your paddle) and no deck rigging or perimeter lines.

Good point, Buzzy.  May have to reconsider and put some deck lines on.  I was also thinking more about the hatches/no hatches issue.  If I install foam bulkheads without hatches I'll never know for sure that water isn't leaking past the bulkheads.    So I think my choices are to have no hatches with air bags, or hatches with bulkheads....leaning towards the airbags unless someone has some advice against using them.

Thanks for your response Buzzy.   

To prevent rot in a wooden boat -- even an epoxy encapsulated boat -- it's important to be able to access and ventilate any enclosed spaces during storage. Deck hatches can be almost invisible by making them flush, and using internal bungee hold-downs, various internal cam systems, or even rare earth magnets. If you don't want anything like that, you might consider securing flotation bags in the bow and stern, and removing them during storage.

Old Yeller 

  I am an old woodworker who harbored an urge to build a wooden boat for about 40 years. When I got serious, I realized that a kayak was the best boat for me, I took an ocean kayaking course to make sure I wasn't crazy and also went to the CLC road show and paddled their kayaks. So I built the kayak first and learned to paddle second.

I am lucky in that theres a group near me, the California Kayak Friends, who took me in. Some of them are retired, like me, and they have been very supportive...and that means they have been teaching me and helping me at every step since then. I also learned that paddling in a 20 inch wide Nick Schade ocean kayak, or any other ocean kayak, has a learning curve that runs in years. Anyone can paddle a sit-on-top, but you can keep learning ocean kayaking the rest of your life.

A few of the lessons I learned in my first six months:

I really didn't want to put on deck lines. My kayak has a strong wood pattern on top and I thought deck lines would mar the appearance. One of my first lessons is that, aside from self rescue by rolling, the best kayak rescue is the t-rescue, in which your partner drags your kayak up on his, turns it over, drains the water out and then holds it while you get back in. If you don't have deck lines, he really can't do that. So deck lines that run pretty much around the kayak are really necessary. I also learned that bungee on top lets you stow things like a storm paddle and also lets you stow your paddle while you're doing a t-rescue.

---I learned the more water you have in your cockpit the less stable your kayak is. When I built the kayak, I thought that bulkheads were for bouyancy, but I learned that their real value is to keep water out of your cockpit. If you've got a bunch of water in your cockpit, it's very difficult to pump water out and not get knocked back over. So one of the reasons you don't paddle in the ocean alone is the best rescue (besides rolling) is a t-rescue, and that takes a partner...and he can also stablize your kayak while you pump water out. 

---I learned is that I needed lessons. I'm still taking them (rolling class is next.)

---I learned to have my seat as thin as possible. Get your butt as close to your hull as possible and keep heavy things, like water, down low. Also, moving your seat backward or foreward a half an inch makes a big difference in weather cocking, and you can only figure that out when you're done building your kayak. 

---I learned is that there is no replacement for time spent in the ocean, dealing with various currents, waves and wind. The more time I spend in my kayak, the more I get the balance thing, and the balance thing and the bracing thing and the stroke technique thing, well, they're all pretty important when it gets rough. 

---And I learned that sometimes we paddle out and it's glassy smooth, but by the time we're paddling back, theres a rough following sea.

---I learned to dress for the water. Actually, I learned to over dress for the water. You can always cool off, but once you're cold, hypothermia sucks.

Oh, and I've been in the middle of a bait ball with dolphins, seagulls and pelicans all around me. I've had a grey whale swim underneath me. And kayakers are cool people. It's really, really worth it.

Cheers,

Thanks Old Yeller and Careybob for your comments.  I'm convinced from the comments above that I need to install deck lines all around the kayak, and some bungees to hold stuff, so that's what I'll do.

I'm leaning toward the air bags still so I can remove them and dry the interior out as mentioned by Old Yeller.

Perhaps someday I'll have enough kayak-building and kayak paddling experience to share with folks on this forum.  Until then, I'll probably show up from time-to-time to ask for your advice.  Thanks again.

   As much as one thinks expoxy is waterproof or impermiable to water penetration needs to talk to some small class sailboat racers They regularly weigh their boats and should be able to tell you that their fiberblass boats weigh more at the end of the season than at the start.

Or you can just track the weight your kayak over time.

Over time the moisture within the bulk heads will build up unless it can escape through an open hatch. The built up moisture can cause mold and bacteria to build up.

I'm a first timer (SW17 S&G), and also wanted to avoid a front hatch because of the beauty and curve of the SW front deck.  I am planning to install a removable front bulkhead, both to allow gluing the deck and hull during construction, but also to remove after use for drying out.  I will epoxy in small wood blocks as stops for the plywood bulkhead to go up against, then wedge minicel on "top" of the plywood to hold it in during use, and for relative waterproofing. 

I hadn't thought about foot braces getting in the way, but I'm planning to use the minicel as an alternative foot brace, so that won't be a problem at least for me.

I'm hoping it will work!

Alec

One can place a perimeter line when needed for far offshore kayaking in rougher conditions by looping it through the front hole where the carrying handle goes (on a Shearwater anyway) and attaching the two end on the front bungee  webbing straps. We did not need front storage on our Shearwaters, so we placed round deck hatches in the front bulkhead before epoxying the deck to the hull.  One needs long arms to reach them. We have not found a problem with T rescues without the perimeter line, but do use the bow grab handles.