Paul's suggestion to locate the bulkheads first is good advice. One thing I would add is this: when locating the fore bulkhead and ensuring that it clears your footbraces, also make sure you don't put it so far away from the cockpit opening that you can't reach it when filleting and taping the bulkhead on the cockpit side. You have to contort your body to get in there to do this. The only way I was able to do it was to flip the boat in the slings and kneel under the boat with both arms where your legs normally go. If the bulkhead is too far forward, you'll never be able to reach it.

> As I understand it, You want your hatches to be close enough to reach if
> you plan to get into them while you are aboard. If you are using them for
> gear that you do NOT need to get at until you land, then the hatches can
> be placed almost anywhere.

> If you have bulkheads, your choices would seem to be between placing a
> hatch close to a bulkhead, or midway between the bulkhead and the end of
> the boat.

> If you put the hatch close to the bulkhead it will be closer to the center
> of the boat. That is probably a wider spot, allowing you to make a wider
> hatch, and that, in turn, allows you to stash away bigger pieces of
> equipment. ( If you can't live without your cast iron dutch oven, or 10
> inch frying pan you better make your hatches big enough so you can stow
> those things.)

> On the other hand, some people put their hatch cut-outs about midway
> between the cockpit and either end. They find that these locations are
> handy when they go to attach the deck to the hull. A middle-located hatch
> gives them another sopt to work from as they roll the tape and resin
> toward the ends, a bit more light in the ends, and a spot to stick their
> head so they can see how things are going.

> Another thing to consider is: What is the size of your luggage? If you
> have 4 gear bags or duffel bags that are each 30 inches (2.5 feet or about
> 75 cm) long then a hatch placed about 30 to 35 inches away from the
> bulkhead would let you put in the gear bag, and have the end of that bag
> handy to grab when you wanted to remove it from the boat. With this
> location you could load two bags easily through each hatch, shoving one
> fore and one aft of the hatch.

> On the other hand, if you opt for putting your hatches near the bulkhead
> it would be a good idea to put a metal ring, or a pully at either end of
> the boat, (on the inside of the boat, of course) and run a rope through
> it. You can tie the end of the rope to your gear bag and pull on the rope
> to get the bag all the way into the end of the boat so you can load the
> next gear bag. Actually, it helps to tie a second rope, or the free end of
> the first one, to the bottom of that gear bag so you can get it out of the
> far end of the boat when you want it.

> Some people put a hatch in the bulkhead itself. That leaves the deck
> uncluttered.

> Some people like to take several paddles with them (anything more than 2 I
> count as several) I can see keeping a spare on deck, but if you want to
> stow a long one-piece paddle (like a greenland style), or a good (and
> long) fly fishing rod and/or rod case, then this desire will probably
> affect your choice of hatch locations.

> As for bulkhead locations: If you plans do not show locations for
> bulkheads then the designer may have concluded that they were not
> structurally necessary. In that case, you can put them anywhere you want
> so as to create compartments that can be watertight, or even airtight. In
> this case, sit in the cockpit, figure out where you are going to want foot
> pedals, or foot braces, and plan on putting a bulkhead a bit further
> forward. Should you plan to put in a rudder you'll want the bulkhead to be
> far enough ahead of the BOTTOM of any rudder pedal so that the pedal won't
> hit the bulkhead. On the other hand, if you have a foot-operated bilge
> pump then you will want to put your bulkhead in a suitable location so you
> can use the thing.

> Decide how much gear you want behind you, and in the cockpit before you
> decide on the location of the bulkhead behind the cockpit. I suppose you
> could create a curved bulkhead that would double as a seatback, or you
> could push the bulkhead back a few inches to give you room to hide a
> waterproof bag with your camera, lunch, a waterbottle, suntan lotion,
> maps, etc.

> It should be obvious, but you should probably plan on the location of the
> bulkheads before you plan on the location of the hatches.

> Hope this helps.

> Paul G. Jacobson