Hi Tom,

This is my first kayak. I used carbon around the hatch cutouts and around the cockpit incl the knee area. The hatches are slightly larger than the standard Redfish hatches. I prefer having the extra strength in thoses areas. The second reason for using carbon was the hope to keep the hatch close to the shape of the deck. There are significant stresses in the deck due to the inlay. I still have some deformation, but I expect the the bungees pull the hatch flush onto rim.

Andreas

: Im am curious as to your choice of using graphite under the hatch. Is the
: entire underside of the deck done with graphite? Do you feel that the
: extra strength is required? Have you ever had a hatch cover fail with a
: standard layup?

: Just curious

: Tom