[Paddlewise] New boat: fitting out the deck

Hi all, 

Usually I am a bit of a lurker on this list, but know I have to shout it
  out for once: 

I finally found a boat 

I have been looking for more than a year for a bout that suits both  me 
and my limited budget and leaves me enough money to be able  to buy the 
safetystuff I need.  
Yesterday I tried a Rofra Falklander, a Norkapp HM copy build in  the 
Netherlands using vacuum baginging. Light and strong. 
The boat fits me like a glove, tracks like a train (with the  
disadvantage that turning takes some effort). I still have to get used  
to the somewhat limited primary stability, but secondary is quite  good.
I was really looking for a more playfull boat like the Romany  explorer 
or Greenlander, but the availabilty second hand is  absolutely zero, and
the prices for new boats are very high. 

I will have to modify the boat a bit. First thing is mounting a  
compass. Has anybody experience with building a compass recess  in an 
existing deck? And what brand of compass? 
I still am thinking about deck layout, as there are few lines on the  
deck now. I might ad a running bowline, but am not sure if it is worth  
the effort and clutter on the deck. 
Third change is fitting a knee tube. Doughs knee tube with deck  acces 
seems a quite good solution. 
I want to mount a handsfree pump. A footpump seems the most  interesting
solution, but I have rather limited room for movement with  my size 13 
feet mounted on my long (1.94 m)8'6'' body. I am  worried if I will be 
able to pump for a long enough time. The other  solution is an electric 
pump, but reliability is the problem in that  quarter. 
  

Last job is changing the rear bulkhead. It is mounted far aft of the  
cockpit, and I would like it more to the front. Is it a good idea to 
skip  the rear bulkhead at use the seat instead? That would limit 
cockpit  volume vey much. 

Last question: I am used to work with epoxies (I build recumbent  bikes 
with it). Is it possible to carry out modifications on a polyester  boat
using epoxy, or should I stick to polyester? 

Happy kayakking, 

Merijn 





 ****************************** Merijn Wijnen Vinkenhofje 8 5613 CN 
Eindhoven The Netherlands Tel.: 040-2939991          (job: 040-2650539) 
Fax:  same as tel., call before sending or try twice E-mail: Home: 
merijn_at_music.demon.nl         Job:  m.wijnen_at_ind.tno.nl Web-site: 
http://www.music.demon.nl 
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