RE: [Paddlewise] Deck/hull seam

>>>
> I reckon it's watertight. Hope it stays that way. Probably will, given
the
> way it's built. (Thanks Nigel, and thanks to you, too, Aled.  :-)
>
> If your hatch covers do NOT exhibit this behavior with hull
temperature
> changes, then maybe (?) you've got a potential water leak.

Some of the Current Designs boats, and I'm told that some of the P&H
boats,
have a pin hole drilled in the center of each bulkhead to prevent what
you
described. As I understand it, there is the danger of the blowing off
because of the pressure/vacuum and the pin hole prevents this from
building
up.

I discovered this after self-rescue practice and finding a few drops of
water in one of the hatches.

Woody
>>>

My wife and I both have Romanys, so after Derek Hutchinson recommended
drilling holes in our bulkheads, we asked Nigel Dennis about it. He
doesn't think it is necessary, since there is plenty of flex in the
hatch covers to allow for increased pressure. The only problem is, after
a couple years of periodic inflation, the VCP cover on the day hatch
develops a permanent bulge; the Kajaksport covers do not.

For some reason, my stern hatch cover never bulges, yet I have never
found water in the stern hatch, whereas the forward hatch, the cover of
which bulges slightly when the temperature rises rapidly, usually has a
few ounces of water in it after rolling. A water test revealed that one
of the screw holes for the footbrace had penetrated the fiberglass cloth
sealing the forward bulkhead, allowing water to wick in, but even after
I did my best to seal both the screw hole and the bulkhead, the problem
persists. On my wife's Romany, both Kajaksport hatch covers still bulge
after three years, but the VCP day hatch cover does not. 

Chuck Holst
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************