[Paddlewise] Bulkheads

 -----Original Message-----
From: a.ferguson [mailto:a.ferguson_at_chem.canterbury.ac.nz]
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 1998 11:05 PM
To: paddlewise
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] high performance sea k

>>
> Also, it has no bulkheads.  I just use airbags and get
> the same safety margin with much less weight.
>
>   - Scott

Do you know the actual weight of two airbags? Must be very
heavy bulkheads to be heavier? Hatches can be the weight of
the area of the hole plus a neoprene cover.

Alex
>>

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Once, during a class, I tried to do a T-rescue of an Aquaterra Chinook
that had a flotation bag in the bow, but no bulkhead. Despite the
flotation bag, I found the water in the bow made it too heavy to lift
to empty the water out.

The last time I saw that Chinook, the owner was paddling it several
miles from Stockton Island to Red Cliff in Lake Superior's Apostle
Islands. He had a two-burner Coleman stove strapped to the afterdeck,
and was wearing neither a PFD or sprayskirt. Fortunately, the waves
were small, and he made it back okay, but I figure he had four risk
factors against him.

In _Deep Trouble_ many of the accidents involved kayaks without
bulkheads. Can anyone give me a good reason NOT to have bulkheads in
a rigid kayak?

Chuck Holst

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