Because I worked hard to make sure that both bulkheads would land exactly where I want them, I decided that it would be a good idea to glue them in place with lightly thickened epoxy before I make the very thick epoxy fillets and then apply fiberglass tape. This is not in the Pygmy hatch and bulkhead instructions, but I don’t want there to be any chance that I might accidentally push them out of position when I am applying the fillets or bedding in the tape. Also, since the only way that I can reach far enough into the cockpit and hatches to reach all areas of the bulkheads is to turn the kayak on its side, I worried about bulkheads flexing out of position as I turned and strapped the kayak. I can now put that worry behind me. This will add several hours (perhaps a day) to the process while I wait for the epoxy to cure enough that I can go back and start on the fillets, etc., but I think it is a reasonable precaution.
EDIT: I have decided to wait until tomorrow to resume working on the bulkheads. I want the epoxy that I applied today to be fully cured before I start doing the fillets, etc. It won’t hurt anything to wait, and it is cheap insurance, as the saying goes.
Aft hatch. It turns out that after all of my careful measuring (and bragging about it), I put the top of the rear bulkhead (above) 3/16″ closer to the cockpit opening than I intended. The instructions say to put it 1″ behind the cockpit opening and mine is only a little over 3/4″ behind the opening. Oh well. There will be room for the fillet and tape, and the back band/seat back shouldn’t hit it. So I’m not going to worry about it. I have bigger fish to fry. Although I do feel compelled to note that this is the second time that my construction around the cockpit has been off by exactly 3/16″ (see upper cockpit coaming post). Close-up of the lightly thickened epoxy on the aft bulkhead.Above is a wide shot of the aft bulkhead.Above is the bow-end side of the forward bulkhead.Aft bulkhead. If you have been following along, you may remember that when I fiberglassed the aft bulkhead I put the hull I.D. #, etc., under the fiberglass cloth. At that time I hadn’t decided if I wanted that information visible from the cockpit, or if I would have it hidden inside the rear cargo hold. From the photos of the aft bulkhead here, you can see that I opted for the latter.Above is the cockpit side of the forward bulkhead. Don’t worry, I left the foot braces in the kayak until after I glued the bulkhead in place, as well as measuring the position of the bulkhead relative to the butt seam in the center of the kayak, so I am 100% certain that everything will fit properly. :^)Above is the bow-end side of the forward bulkhead.
Lagom 