Thanks. Your discription of how to keep sprayskirts from leaking is well worth knowing.
Of all the bright ideas on this thread you get the award for the only one that does not require head scratching.

: A properly designed coaming with a correct sized neoprene skirt does not
: leak. The trick is the tighter the coaming rim radius the higher the
: radial camping force is exerted by the skirt bungee. So if you are making
: a keyhole opening you must keep a convex curve on all parts of your
: coaming rim, the more curve the better. NO STRAIGHT SIDES. Ocean cockpits
: are small and round so not only do they experience less implosion force
: they clamp on the coaming rim with more radial force. But elongated
: coamings can also be watertight. I have paddled for hours through white
: caps without taking on water through my 33 x 17 inch cockpit. And neoprene
: is much more watertight than nylon cloth. However, do not expect a dry
: cockpit interior. Your feet are wet when you get in and the sealed cockpit
: is a greenhouse that you quickly sweat to 100 percent humidity inside.
: Coamings can be installed on complex deck curves with the typical
: techniques or a cockpit recess will straighten out any complex deck into a
: simple curve in just one direction (fore and aft). You need the
: flexibility of a skirt to move your torso around while paddling. And
: rolling with your waist welded to the deck would be a challenge.