: I am guessing that the reason for this is that you can make the openings
: bigger nearer the bulkheads and so you can get bigger stuff in. I haven't
: put the deck on yet and I am thinking of moving them.

I don't think the person who designed the opennings thought about it so much like you do, so any guess you might have will probably be true.

: What I was wondering
: is: 1. If you move the hatches nearer to the ends/centers of the holds,
: what criteria do you use for resizing them? (ie. How much deck do you need
: to have on the sides of the hatch opening?)

I don't understand what is that thing that you call "holds", but I think I understand your question: if the opennings will be too big, than there will not be enough deck surface to give the kayak strength. & I think that's what you want to avoid.

I am happy to inform you that I had the same dillema when designing the hatches for my Coho. My solution was to call the manufacturer & ask them where do they locate the hatches. they gave me measurments & added that it's not a big deal. well, big deal or small, I need hull strength ! so I looked in many kayak images in magazines, to get a sense of proportion, & I didn't exceeded that sense of proportion when designing my hatches. It didn't break so far.... & it had plenty of opportunities to break.

2. Is it a good idea to move
: the hatches closer to the centers of the holds or is it not necessary. (I
: have given up on trying to design a retractable skeg for now and may
: install a CLC through-the-deck type later).

skeg & space don't go together ! I learned it today while designing/building a skeg. that's life.

It took me approximately 3 minutes of paddling with light back chop, to increase the importance of skeg, & reduce the importance of space.

the longest item you can store in a compartment (is that what you call "holds" ?) must be shorter than the distance from one edge of the opening to the opposite end of the compartment !

that's why the openings are not in the center .

I used my camping tent as a refference when positioning the opennings on the deck. It didn't make much sense to me to make everything & then discover that I can't fit my tent inside .

do you also work for the CIA ?

why do you keep the name of your kayak a secret ? 8^P

talk with Paul Lund. I think you will be good friends. LOL

btw, I kept 1.5" from the deck seam (that's the seam above the shear seam on the Coho) for about 14" long.

good luck,

Erez