At 06:48 AM 2/21/01 -0600, skylakeboatworks_at_yahoo.com wrote: >Why do so many designs have/show the bulkheads so far forward/aft? What is >the point to having a foot of space behind the seat and a foot of space >ahead of the foot braces? Doesn't this equal an inordinate amount of extra >water (read weight) in a flooded cockpit? Not to mention the possibility of >sliding down into the cockpit (possible entrapment) at an inopportune >moment? Presumably many designs have a lot of room behind the seat for in-cockpit storage but personally I don't find it particularly useful because it's difficult to retrieve something from behind the seat while sitting in the cockpit. Building the rear bulkhead a bit further back than the cockpit rim also provides a bit more stiffness in an area that gets a lot of pressure during a reentry. If you look at Nigel Dennis's designs you'll find that the rear bulkhead is located as far forward as possible *and* it's sloped to allow easy drainage when trying to empty a flooded cockpit. One of the advantages of a rear bulkhead that is a foot or so behind the cockpit rim is that it allows the addition of a third bulkhead and a day hatch. Placing the forward bulkhead a foot or so ahead of the footbraces allows someone with really long legs to remove the footbraces and glue foam padding to the bulkhead for foot support. I've seen quite a few rental boats that have had their footpegs removed. Several pieces of closed cell foam are attached with velcro to accommodate a wide range of paddlers. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Feb 21 2001 - 10:37:02 PST
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