I've seen evidence of stress risers on kevlar, glass, carbon, and polycarbonate kayaks.

I haven't seen evidence of stress risers on wooden kayaks; not that they're not possible--wood is just so stiff and resilient that placing a rigid bulkhead doesn't make much of a "hard spot" relative to the flexibility of the adjacent hull.

Dale Frolander thought of something similar to your idea a few years ago, but I don't know that he implemented it or not. He thought of using a thin piece of foam like a "backer rod" under the bulkhead.

If you like the idea, go for it and let the rest of us know how it works! I don't think it's an idea doomed to failure for sure; I'm just not personally convinced that stress risers are necessarily a huge problem in wood composite kayaks.

Shawn

: I had a thought last night concerning the use of wood vs pliable bulkheads. I
: am sure everyone is aware of the problems and benefits of each type since
: this has been addressed multiple times. Here is my solution. Form a wooden
: bulkhead that fits tight to the inside of the deck and several inches past
: the shear into the hull (to about the water line). At that point leave a
: 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of the hull. The bulkhead will be attached
: above with epoxy and tape. To seal the bottom gap, it would be filled with
: either silicone caulk or butyl caulk. This should produce an asthetic
: bulkhead that has some give in the event the hull is flexed by impact.

: What do the experts think about this plan. I would like to hear positives and
: negatives before I try it. Better yet, maybe someone else could try it and
: let me know if it works incase my plan is a complete failure .