Hey Mac,

If you want to see a good pic of a recessed cockpit go to Redfish Kayaks and look at the pics of Joe's Redfish "King" design. It shows his "rollers recess". In the pic notice how close the recess is to the cockpit rim up toward the front of the cockpit. This keeps the front of the cockpit elevated giving max leg/knee room. Then toward the rear of the cockpit it flares out dropping it farther down the side toward the sheer line which drops the cockpit rim down. The widest part of the recess coincides with the point where the rear of the cockpit rim will be. Then it slopes back up to blend in with the rear deck.

When I built Restless Wind for my daughter I built somewhat of the rollers recess but I didn't drop it down quite as much as Joe did. Once you decide where the cockpit will be, draw it out on the boat then draw our the recess and go to work. It's not difficult at all.

I've got a few more pics at the link below. Happy Building.

Charles.