Re: [Paddlewise] day hatch pro/con

I find the day hatch to be very useful on my Romany. My yak isn't meant to be
long haul expedition freighter,
so my backpacking skills come in handy...trying to be selective with what I take
and how I pack for trim.
As with backpacking, one learns that certain items should always be handy for
safety or ease of use. But the list of
essential items that varies with trip, mood, conditions, time of day, etc. are
nice to shift and have at the ready.
A small thermos of hot coffee, tea or bullion...extra bandanas...gorp...a
redundant map in zip lock bag...10 essentials
(if not carried on pfd pack)...weather radio (if not carrying a vhf)...blah blah
blah.

I find the day hatch allows me to stock and restock certain items and the added
bulkhead to provide an extra measure of structural
reinforcement. I suppose the added hatch increases the chance of hatch failure,
but it also limits the volume of exposure
to swamping.  Perhaps there are other ways of dealing with this access issue,
but I like the mostly dry and handy confines
of the easily reachable hatch.

-wjj


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