Rod, the good thing about the building process is that you can finish the boat, paddle it and learn all about rescues with a boat with float bags and no bulkheads, get so disgusted with the amount of water that you have to get rid of compared to bulkheaded boats, that you: learn to roll, decide to put in an aft hatch and bulkhead. Then with the aft bulkhead and deck hatch you'll have a dry compartment, ease of dumping water out the cockpit and you won't have to see it while paddling. After a few more season you can decide that even though having all that access through the cockpit you'd really like to have a bulkhead right up against the footrails so as to really minimize the water in the cockpit. And since you've been hanging around here so much you'll come up with a flush hatch that will be perfect.