I pulled the trigger on a used 400S, no front bulkhead or hatch.
I would like to make a minicell “popout” bulkhead that I could stuff drybags in front of and cram the bulkead in to hold it, with a little handle for easy removal. no glue. If I locate it just in front of the footbraces, that may hold it in place. (might even remove footbraces for a “greyak” mod.)
What do you think? I don’t do ocean stuff so I hope in a capsize it would stay in place…not as airtight as a sealed bulkhead but do you think it would keep together and float up long enough to rescue?
Or should I just invest in good Float/storage bags?
The boat should be here this weekend…can’t wait to see what the Qcc rage is all about!
This forum is quite convincing in regards to QCC,
thanks to all previous replies and archived goodies…
Better rely on dry bags for buoyancy.
Even if the bulk head is ‘stuffed’ in place , water will run right in if boat is swamped. It WILL keep bulk H2o out if you get the boat right back up though. Beware jamming the bulkhead in too tight. Will cause the laminate to creep in warm weather. Cut it right, take your time to rasp it perfect and just a bit of your favorite sealant will keep it in place… and water tight.
Hey
Are you really short and thin? just how do you plan on reaching it? I know the 700 is a bit longer then the 400, but man it would be a complete PETA to stuff things infront of my feet, even if no bulk-head was built in…
How about a “half” bulkhead
This might not work in practice, but just a thought. What if you glued in only the upper half or upper third of a bulkhead? When the boat is upside down, it would pretty much keep water out. When boat is right side up, any water drains. Allows access to bow area, but wouldn’t provide reliable flotation.
Welcome to the cult!
I have a 600 and love it!I’m rigging a sail to it next year and yes that means I’m having a hole cut into it!
thin, but not short,
Maybe I should settle down until the boat gets here, and see how difficult access will be…
I really do like the Wildwasser or NRS float/storage combo bags…
Maybe save the minicell work for something else.
Yeah
anuther good thing about bags is the ability to hull a bunch of loose stuff at once.
I followed your thread Linda
Glad to hear your happy with it!
I am just getting all worked up because I will only have about three days from receiving the yak until we go down to the gulf for Thanksgiving and I really want to take the new boat…but not without some flotation…even if it means a temporary bag of foam or empty soda bottles.
Call QCC
I agree that float bags should be your primary source of flotation rather than the minicell bulkhead.
For a good fit, call Phil at QCC and he should be able to provide a template for your 400. That should be a good starting point for your minicell shaving.
Jim
Gaia makes some nice float bags
and I think they come in YELLOW!
I may do that,
since I have been dealing with Phil anyway. He was nice enough to throw in some new hatch straps to replace the velcro style ones. I will probably talk to him after I get the yak anyway for a review/report. Easy to deal with.
For a used purchase, it’s comforting knowing that it is coming from QCC instead of a private individual…
The countdown…
… to a trade-in for a 700 is on!
QCC Trade-in?
Does QCC take their boats in on trade? If this is the case, I may just have to start planning on my next boat. (Don’t tell my wife however. She’s still trying to justify the $1000 I spent on a drysuit and associated clothing.)
Probably should have said "trade-up"
Not sure what they’ll do, but they certainly will help get you into another boat!
I know they will list yours for sale on their site. The guy I know who went from a 500 to 700 did that (did not send it back - it sold from his place and was listed that way).
Call and ask if that’s free (should be - if they know you’ll buy again once it’s sold). Classifieds here work well, and I’ve done well selling/buying on eBay too.
Trade ups…
Yes, I basically talked to Phil about a new 400x, but he suggested this used 400s that had just come in, a customer “upgraded” to a 600, so aparently they do some trading.
Good price also.
700 countdown
If you go buy my purchasing history, that will be about two months from now. Seriously, hopefully this will be the last one for a while, at least until next summer.
non-watertight
I made a non-watertight bulkhead for my wife’s boat to hold the bow float bags in place. It mounts to an extra set of footpegs. Her footpegs are all the way at the cockpit end of the rail, so there was a lot of space to fill up in the bow.