Doug, You have also illustrated why you want your bulkheads as close as possible--you really want to limit the amount of water that could enter the cockpit in the first place. If you've got nearly 800 lbs. of water in the cockpit, handling is, well, gonna suck!

I was going to consider going with the Rule Mate until Dale pointed out that it will turn on every time I roll. And I like to roll! I think I'll go with a switch!

Peter Carter recommends putting closed cell foam on the sides of the cockpit to further limit volume that could otherwise have been occupied by water.

Shawn

: 22796

: I figured 5 feet between bulkheads in the cockpit and a 22 inch width. If you
: consider a cylinder with these dimensions the volume is (3.14 x 11^2)x 60
: = 22796 cubic inches. There are 231 cubic inches in a gallon (U.S. liquid)
: which yields 98 gallons. I realize the cockpit is not cylindrical but if
: it held say 75% of this it would still have 75 gallons just in the cockpit
: area. It's worst case conditions and with the ends of the kayak filled
: with air this should never happen, but I always figure things could get
: worse and try to plan accordingly.

: Doug