I am also trying to design a floatation system into my kayak. I have seen a lot of good advice on this forum, thanks to all who contributed. Some of the reading has left a few questions, though.

The Mariner Kayaks web page has the following anecdote. Sea Kayaker Deep Trouble chapter 5) "...The afterdeck seemed too high. There had to be a solution. He had this flash of insight: "why not lower the back deck by filling the kayak up with water?" Having worked so hard to bail it out, he now tipped the kayak and filled the cockpit again. The context was to point out the irony of bailing out a cockpit only to have it filled in again by the rough water that caused the capsize or (as in this case) on purpose by the kayaker. But, it made me wonder whether a kayak that floats too high would be more difficult to re-enter than one that rides a little lower. Is there a float level that will make re-entry easier, i.e. using a combination of ballast and floatation?

Does anyone have ideas on a tie down system for gear? The kayak I’m building (Expedition Single) will have so much capacity and room that I wonder if it can be righted with all that gear rolling about.

I read that the coast guard does not approve the use of bulkheads for ensuring floatation, but have granted an exception to kayaks and canoes. What methods and materials are approved for small craft, and would they make the kayak safer?

Peter Carter’s web page describes the benefits of an “integrated cockpit” but points out the difficulty of designing a complex three-dimensional shape. In the post script he describes using foam to fill in the unused space in the cockpit. Has anyone tried this approach?