: Very very nice. How is the forward hatch held on place? How well
: does the forward compartment stay dry? The picture makes the
: stain look rather dark, did you have any problems with the
: application making the color even and streak free? How much of
: the wood grain shows thru the color? I really like this one!

Thanks,

The Fore Hatch is fastened with internal bungies. I've done a better job on the hooks on other kayaks, but these work okay. After a good rolling session I end up with 1/4 cup of water in the forward compartment, and usually none in the aft.

The sain is dark, and it did go on botchy. I wiped it down with a wet cloth to even it out and reapplied. At first I thought it wasn't going to turn out well at all, but it looks much better than I thought. The wood grain does show through, but it is not as dominant as it would be on pine or something similar. I've got a lot of ghosting of the fiberglass, and my epoxy got milky, because I did two layers of 6oz satin weave glass in one wetout. The flash really highlights the ghosting and the milkiness. It was my worst glassing job ever, I was over-confident, and tried to do too much at once, using glass that was more dificult to wet out.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs264.snc3/27837_125645087465386_100000596870550_202997_7001880_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs264.snc3/27837_125645084132053_100000596870550_202996_278401_n.jpg