Sounds like a good idea to me, I wish I had done it on my recent build, and, unless the gurus persuade otherwise, will do it on my current one.

I agree with Etienne though, only do this with glass on both the inside and the outside of the deck. If you are concerned about the hatch lids warping, you can, as I did, install stiffening braces to the inside surface of the lids before cutting them out.

Have fun, and thanks for the idea.

Best regards,

Allan Edie

: Folks,

: At the risk of exposing my lack of knowledge about kayak building I
: have what I think is a pretty basic question. I am just
: finishing glassing the inside of my hull and will soon move on
: to joining the hull & deck. I have read a lot of posts and
: books about methods of applying the tape to the inside seam and
: the quality issues and mess that accompanies that operation.
: What is the downside of cutting out my hatches before joining
: the two pieces? Will that cause the deck to flatten out and lose
: its shape? It would seem that being able to use the hatch
: opening to complete the inside joint would make it much easier.

: I welcome all thoughts, please keep your laughter to a minimum.

: Scot in Manchester, MI