Sacrilege: Mounting a hatch in a Epic V10 sport

Hi, what's inside a 2006  Epic v10 sport gen 1?



 I want to use it for touring so I had this idea of carving a hatch. It's just an idea at the moment. It's a carbon-kevlar hull, fiberglass deck. It can be a small hatch if front of the footboard:

and that's easy
Or a bigger one behind che cockpit, but I don't know what is inside, and what kind of hatch I can install.

Awesome pics. Hopefully you bought the boat in 2 pieces!

I think it was Cryder or FasterFarther that had a video on here of him in a V12 converted with a hatch. He kayak camped along some reservoir in oregon if memory serves correct. He had some great shows of downwinding in 3' lake swell.

So not sacrilege at all! a pretty good idea if you can pull it off. The V10S would be a great platform for long distance fast touring. Still stable enough to spend many hours a day on, but fast enough to cover a lot of miles and very seaworthy.

How are you going to align the 2 pieces so that they're straight and correctly rockered?

MCImes wrote:  Cryder or FasterFarther

One and the same person. First fixed up a broken ski like this then had one custom made by epic


Should find some links by searching here on google. maybe sent a PM to Cryder

Hi MCImes, fortunately it's not my kayak, it's just an image I found to show how  probably an old Epic it's inside

OP, talk to Selkie, at one point he was involved in a hatched ski design.

I repair skis so have been inside a lot of them.
The picture is accurate, though depending on the make/build it could be a foam stringer aft.
I like the 4" hatch in the front of the bucket, they are great to dry the boat out and store keys / emergency stuff, but there is usually a foam stringer vertical just inside which will block access a bit.
A hatch aft is VERY problematic if it is large and violates the stringer. Skis are monocoque construction. The skin is part of the strength and the stringer is crucial. The V10 pictured was custom built by  Epic and took into account the lack of a stringer with additional carbon to stiffen the boat.
You can do it, but if you go surfing in the boat and it is stressed it might fold in half at the new hatch:(
A smaller hatch left or right of the stringer is a reasonable alternative but you wont get a tent through it.
An overhead laser level would be a good aid in getting the two halves aligned. Good luck!