Prijon in Europe gets it.
P&H gets it with the Cetus.
Lincoln Canoe and Kayak gets it with the Eggemoggin and a few roto boats too by a small number of companies.
Now thanks to the efforts of BrazilBrazil and Tstheiii my WS Tempest 165 now has it:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2087116960084634827qMzTJo
Some manufactures have argued that the knee tube or knee box impeeds entry or egress-not true in this case-you never know it’s there unless you are grabbing a camera,GPS,sunscreen or even a coverall cag. Once inside I tried to contact the knee box with my thighs or knees, it wasn’t possible in the T-165, the thigh hooks are actually lower than the box! Wasted space no more and a hatch you can actually get to in conditions.
cool
what manufacturers cover is that?
I Want One!
It’s a KajakSport Hatch
I think the smallest they make but not abs. sure about all the sizes they offer. I used the same size in an install on a QCC700:
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2227696950084634827ygBDMj
For the QCC we used a knee tube intended for a KajakSport Millenium and it was a perfect fit.
For the Tempest Tstheiii created a ‘knee box’. The squarish shape allows better use of the space for the intended items which are basically square-cameras,etc.
Knee tubes are an option on a few boats, Valley boats for one. I’ve got a knee tube in the Q-boat but no deck access, if you end up with one of these consider a ChillCheater/Reed Spraydeck with a bung hole to access the knee tube without removing the spraydeck.
I don’t think I’m going to start a revolution in 4th hatches but the functionality is there if you spend a lot of time in a kayak and dont like deck clutter or having to dig into the PFD or attach a deck bag. Arguments against knee tubes impeding movement in or out of the kayak are moot with a properly sized box or tube.
If you are in the market for a kayak made in the USA that is already on top of this look at the Eggemoggin…it’s my favorite Brit style kayak.
Hopefully Tstheiii will chime in and tell us how many hours he invested in the install. I know the lengthy part was crafting the box and getting the corners nice and rounded.
If you install a tube or box you won’t be dissapointed!
ok I know I am a little responsible
for the hatch but TsthIII is the real culprit! All I did was transport the kayak and get a couple of dings in the hull fixed.
Gotta say this though. In two of my boats (and soon in the third) I have the pads and clips for a Northwater underdeck bag. I can store my pump above the bag and can switch the essentials from boat to boat without having to dig them out of a hatch. And before you mention that you have to access it by taking the skirt off…ahem…I have two reed sprayskirts (one a tuiliq) that have the opening in the deck so I can easily reach in and retrieve what I want.
A extra set of pads are pricey (I think 15 bucks) (and you could easily make them yourself) but the versatility and convenience of being able to just unclip and reclip in another boat is a better option for me.
Dont get me wrong. It is a nice hatch and would be welcome in some boats but there are alternatives.
Paul
underdeck bags
I used one in the Nordkapp for a while. BrazilBrazil is right in that you can easily move it from boat to boat.
The downside is that if you put anything ‘tacky’ in it-like a garment, it can be a pain to pull it out and without pulling everything else out.
The other down is that they are usually floppy. Personally I like solid and the glassed in tubes/boxes add serious rigidity to the hull albeit at a weight penalty.
The sticky that held my underdeck bag eventually failed-maybe because of a foot strongly catching it in a re-entry and roll-that can’t happen with a glassed in/smooth box.
In the end each their own-just dont be afraid of modding out your kayak for your needs!
My next step for the T-165 will be a grommet to allow passage of a hydration tube.
On last weeks 20miler I was sipping constantly, backpackers know the necessity of hydration so why not carry over the benefits of a bladder system to kayaking, its the one mod on the QCC that gets constant use.
I just say this stuff to
get to you medicineman. You were too easy…
Paul
Knee tube/box
Medicineman…I really like what you did with the extra length of bungie! Paul was right when he said you would find some way to tether the hatch cover to the kayak.
If I had to guess, I figure maybe ten hours in it max. Most of the time was in 10 to 15 minute blocks of time epoxying parts, although shaping the original foam mold took the longest…maybe 30 to 45 minutes there.
Building yours was great experience for me! I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
Tripp
ahem…
– Last Updated: Dec-26-07 7:14 AM EST –
I did that...
That is the reason why I need you to bring me a yard or two of that thin bungee from my roll.
:)
Paul
Sweet
should post his up on the tempest board too…
i am hoping to actually get my knee tube this year to add to my 170…going direct to kajaksport…
i had not thought about adding a 4th hatch…just the tube…
how was the curve of the deck to get that hatch in there??
Cmone on MORE PICTURES!!! especially the install ones…
thanks
r
Sorry, not too many pictures…
Medicineman may still have some of the ones I took after cutting the hole out of the deck and mounting the hatch lips.
It was pretty simple to make. Sculpt a “mold” out of minicell foam the shape of the box, cover it in packing tape (which epoxy will not stick to), and lay layers of fiberglass soaked with epoxy over and around the mold. After the glass/epoxy cures, pry out the tape covered mold, and sand and trim the fiberglass box. Then mount it under the deck using an epoxy/cabosil mixture as an adhesive. I colored the epoxy with some black tint I had laying around to give it a more finished look.
The worst part was glassing the front of the box (closest to the bow) where you can’t see what you’re doing. I turned the kayak upside down, sat on a five gallon bucket with my head and one arm stuck into the cockpit, and wore a headlamp bouncing the light off a mirror held with a plastic clamp to see how to glass and epoxy over the gap caused by the curvature of the deck.
Let me know if you have more questions.
Tripp
pics of the process
as supplied by the magician himself:
http://community.webshots.com/album/546410669vcRDzp?start=360
nice!! cuz KS was mentioned i thought
that you were putting in one of their boxes…ahh…home build…mini cell foam block makes perfect sense…
is the box low enough to use as a knee rest/brace???
what size hatch is that???the smallest?
rob
surf KajakSport
and see the hatches they offer. I’ve got a spare that is intended for yet another kayak…I’ll look next week when I get home to see the size if you havent found it by then.
In the Tempest you cannot get your knees on the knee box…the thigh braces/hooks are lower than the box! BUT I can still stack a Optio 43wr on top of a Garmin 76csx inside and have room for several other things.
Now the knee tube intended for the Millenium that’s in the QCC700, you can brace solidly against it.
Glad you’re thinking about it!
a PM on doing this in a plastic boat
Sorry but I lost that e-mail!!!
I dont know how you would go about doing this in a plastic boat…the hatch would have to be screwed on with a gasket-easy enough…but hardly a way to get a solid box or tube underneath. You could just have a waterproof bag under the hatch. I think??? this is what is done in the Cetus but I’m not sure.
There are several kayakfishin sites that have something like this, that’s where I’d look. Sorry I lost the email and dont have further knowledge about plastic mods.