Re: [Paddlewise] retrofitting bulkheads

Peter, if this is a concern I would move the bulkhead a few inches
forward and cut your foam tight- the pressure  on the foam would expand
out increasing the friction tending to distribute a lot of the forces
around the hull and deck.  My experience with epoxy and glass leads me
to believe that the bulkhead can be taped quite secure.  If you are
apprehensive about the seal with the polyester and mat, it would be and
easy thing to supplement the reinforced bulkhead from the front hatch
with fiberglass tape and epoxy.  The foam really does cut down the
volume in the cockpit and I really like the foam feel better than
footpegs.  
I recently helped someone with the footpeg/foam dilemma by backing up
the foot pegs, which were placed 3" forward of where he liked them, with
closed cell foam routed out to fit the back of the foot pegs and place a
piece of 3" closed cell (dense) in front of the pegs.  If he decides on
the pegs, he can move the closed cell behind them to reduce volume.  

Peter Treby wrote:

> A problem with the forward bulkhead as the footrest, is that the bulkhead
> may fail with injurious or boat sinking consequences if the boat does an
> ender into a sandbar or rock. This happened here recently, but the boat
> broke at the bow. The footrest/bulkhead was strong enough to withstand a
> spearing into a sandbar.
> Peter Treby


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