: I cut out the fore and aft hatches for my strip-built boat. The question is,
: what have any of you done for the covers? I thought about flush, but I'm
: just not sure about how well they would seal. On my current CLC boat the
: hatches are not flush, but I really like the way they keep the water out.
: Aside from restripping the hatch covers, what else have others done? Using
: multiple layers of ash to build up the outside diameter of the hatches was
: a thought. I like the dimensions of the hatch openings themselves so as to
: allow plenty of opening to move gear in and out.

: Thanks for any ideas/suggestions.

Hi,
This doesn't answer any of your questions, but I have started to think about my hatches while I am still building my haul. I once discussed on the board that I felt that floation along upper (in) sides (port & starboard) would give great stability in a flooded kayak doing a self rescue. Since my kayak is 28 " wide, I may have the room to put sealed compartments 3' long on each upper insides of my boat with hatches mounted vertically inside. I would use these for cameras, field glasses, etc., plus I would get the kind of upper side floation I want. I could do a before and after flooding and rescue to see just how well it works.

John