While I advocate soft bulkheads, I think that a stripper built with 1/4" strips is stiff enough that a solid bulkhead does not make it that much stiffer so a solid bulkhead will be less of a problem than a kayak with a more flexible outer shell. I have not had problems with either form of bulkhead causing cracks.

: After taking flak from a local Seattle designer/manufacturer/retailer for
: using solid bulkheads, I got to wondering; how many of you have
: experienced hull damage just in front of or at the junction with a solid
: bulkhead? In other words, is it statistically significant enough to bother
: thinking about?

: I am now stripping the deck for my wife's new Silver, so it's time to
: complete my plans for internal structures like bulkheads, foot pegs, and
: foot pumps before the top and bottom come together for the last time.

: Ted Henry