Re: [Paddlewise] No bulkheads ???

MJAkayaker_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> I am considering buying a smaller 2nd kayak for day trips and light surfing
> that has no bulkheads and no hatches.  Using airbags for floatation and not
> having hatches appeals to me for a couple of reasons.  [snip]

> Do I need to have a "web" or strap of some type where the bulkheads would
> normally be located to make sure bags to not come out?  (If I can get it in
> what keeps it from coming out?).

Don't have enough experience on how to pack gear into a hatchless kayak to be
very useful there -- Broze and others will respond on that issue, I suspect. 
However, I use a system to the rear of my cockpit on my unbulkheaded boat to
keep stuff entrapped that you might consider:

For the rear compartment, I fixed four D-rings, distributed symmetrically
around the inside where the bulkhead would normally be.  Then I attached one
end of a bungie to the first D-ring, and threaded the bungie through the
diagonally opposite D-ring, the next adjacent  D-ring, and then snap it
diagonally to the last D-ring.  (The bungie forms a figure "8" with the last
leg of the "8" uncompleted.)  This arrangement is the last thing I do after
"filling" the rear part of the yak with bulky things that will not pass the
bungie barrier.  Have not swamped the loaded yak to test this, But I think it
is secure, because I have surfed the boat empty, with just the airbag back
there, and it has never come out in multiple swampings (I am a crummy kayak
surfer).

For the forward compartment, I fill it with gear (nose down), and then insert
my seasock, **with a 2-inch-thick foam bulkhead inside it,** into the cockpit. 
The foam bulkhead is sized so it jams firmly against the inside of the hull, up
against the footpedals.  Again, have not tested this with gear up front. 
However, it has never dislodged when surfing the boat empty (airbag up front,
of course).

I bet others who do extended touring in unbulkheaded kayaks use sea socks. 
They have the main advantage of minimizing pumpout if you have to wet exit, but
also allow good isolation of gear fore and aft of the cockpit.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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