There are many different approaches to forming the bulkheads to a kayak.
I'm initially testing a method that uses 5mm marine grade plywood that will be held in place with a flexible channel seam - to absord at least some of the impact of a future unplanned landing upon a rock garden.
Firstly, the old station forms that had been sitting out in the garden during three months of recent rain were retrieved to serve as templates for the bulkheads.
Kayak boy #2 tracing the template.
We are using 5mm Australian white cedar marine grade ply for the bulkheads
I will laminate an additional skin of Australian Red Cedar on to both faces of each bulkhead at a latter stage.
The bulkheads sitting loosely within the hull.
The very observant will see that there is a non-typical additional compartment towards the stern.
I'm likely to also include an additonal bulkead within the bow (which will also serve to better distribute the force from the sail rig which will eventually be fitted to the deck immediately above it). Additional compartments mean additional weight and more chances of water ingress through the additional hatches. My reasoning for going to this trouble (and risk) is that this kayak is 6.1m in length so to be able to access the furthest extents of its storage compartments fully - and without having to unload an entire compartment to access that desperately needed item jammed up its narrow end - it seems to make some sense to have multiple compartments both fore and aft of the cockpit. If the kayak were to be stoved-in at some unfortunate location then these extra bulkheads may well prove their worth.
And in terms of constructability, having access through hatch openings that are close to the bow and stern will be very useful for ensuring that the internal sheerline seam is well bonded to the deck and hull.
