Dear Norm,
Cutting the hatches before doing the interior fillet along the seam will facilitate the process of making the fillet and taping it in one fell swoop. My wife's Osprey Standard was not done this way because the gaps between deck and hull were too great in some places for me to trust the joint. Instead, I taped over the joint in the "dry fit" stage, and back filled. When I removed the tape I needed to fill in again from the exterior. It worked okay, but the interior fill was very uneven. I layed the tape with a mixture of slightly thickened epoxy, but there were places where the glass was not fully in contact with the surface and I ended up sanding extensively. It was no easy task, and the results were less than perfect. My current project had a pretty good joint between the deck and hull and I was confident that it wouldn't come apart. However, on both boats, I glassed the deck interior first, left the deck exterior naked until after the deck and hull were attatched. I was worried that pressure aplied to bring the two together would distort the deck, and that the distortion would fix it self when I cut out the hatches...leaving a poor fit. My theory was that by glassing the deck exterior after the hull and deck were attatched, a) I could set the shape of the deck and therefore the shape of the hatches permanently, according to the way they related to the hull. b)I could fair the deck on the hull as one piece (my current project has the deck divided into three sections minidecks at the stems and the main deck and Sue's Pygmy deck was divided by the panels's seams).

I've seen the technique of tying the hatches with bungee cord from inside the hull too. The photo I remember was of 1/2 inch pvc pipe cut in half lengthwise, and glued into the hull interior along the sides, and on the inside of the hatch. I've since seen pictures of this with wood strips or something. Those slots for your fingers to slip in between hatch and deck are a neccessity.
If the purpose of the bulkhead is to save you from taking on too much water should your hatches fail, I'd think twice about putting holes in them, especially if you do not intend to secure the hatches strongly from the outside. The only problem I have with the standard hatch tie downs as they come from Pygmy Boats is the clunky metal fasteners, as they tend to bang the hull when the hatches are open. They also have a tendancy to come undone, especially if I stow the paddle along the deck and the blade rests on them. It doesn't happen all the time, but often enough for me to look out for it when I grab the paddle and begin to shove off.

I installed my wife's bulkheads after the hull and deck were attatched, and I'm following that proceedure with my current project. It is not a problem installing them after the hull and deck are attatched, although there might be gaps, they are easily filled, especially with a piece of plastic packing tape as backing and filling in from the opposite side (back fill). If the bulkheads end up in a place that you wish were different, put 'em where you want and shim for a tight fit on the top or bottom, and fill the one that is not shimmed. Back filling might take a couple of days while you let the joint set, but it makes a good seal. I didn't need to tape the joint because it looked welded. Good luck. I'm sure someone else will add to this. I hope I'm not too far away from what others might suggest.
Bill Cruz

: I am working on a pair of Pygmy Ospreys and have two questions: I am thinking
: about cutting the hatches in the deck right after gluing the deck to the
: hull and before doing the fillet on the inside sheer seam. I would leave
: the ¾” wide strapping tape on to add some additional strong. This should
: help make doing the fillet and taping of the inside sheer seam a lot
: easier. If I did this I may be able to install the bulkheads before the
: deck is applied. Has anyone done this and what issues should I lookout
: for?

: I have been looking at the hatch cover hold-down system. I don’t like the
: standard Pygmy strapping system. I remember seeing a system somewhere on
: the Internet, of a kayak that used a bungee that came back though the
: bulkhead into the cockpit. One end of the bungee was attached near the
: hatch and then want up though a couple of loops on the hatch and then ran
: though the bulkhead, into the cockpit to a tie down of some sort. I think
: I would use a piece of stainless steel wire though the bulkhead. The only
: drawback I can see is a couple of small holes in the bulkhead. Any
: suggestion.