I paddle a Necky Sky and it doesn’t appear to have flotation. Since I paddle on flat water and very slow rivers, do I need flotation (altho I am going to Elkhorn Slough soon). In addition, there is a place for a stern hatch but I imagine it would require a kit and cutting the plastic. How would I know what to purchase; is this something a kayak shop handles?
Yeah, and it’s deep too…
It doesn’t matter much how flat and slow it is. What’s important is how deep, and how disappointed you’d be if your boat sank to the bottom.
Flotation Bags
Try a Necky dealer for information about a hatch kit but you may have to settle for a generic hatch. I’ve never seen a hatch kit for a Sky for sale.
Float bags will solve the problem for sure, try NRS and Gaia paddlesports. Measure the area inside the hull at bow and stern and get a bag slightly larger if possible. Float bags need to be attached to the hull not just stuffed inside or they can pop out when needed most.
Even completely filled the hull won’t sink but it will become extremely heavy and difficult to pull to shore.
I ordered a hatch kit for a Looksha
Sport through a Necky dealer. It wasn’t hard to install, though Necky hatches have changed since then. I assume you have a bulkhead behind the cockpit that seals the rear compartment. If so, then you have flotation for a while, until water slowly infiltrates the rear compartment. You can, and should, also install a float bag in the nose of the boat. If there is no front bulkhead, the nose bag can perhaps be attached to the footpeg rail assembly.