adding cargo hatch to V8? Sacrilege or practical?

the V8 is an all around perfect boat for me, I use it more as a day-kayak than a ski, to be honest.

The only down-side is when I want to carry a bag or something with more supplies it raises the center of gravity and makes it hard to re-mount (if I should ever fall off, which is rare, but do kayak in rough water/bigger swells).

Has anyone added an aftermarket cargo hatch to their ski, and if so how would one go about it? I don't want to ruin the ski, but would love to have more versatility as a day tourer.

The V6 has them already from the factory and is as comfortable and nearly as fast.
Anything is possible in composites.
There is however a stringer supporting the back deck so that will have to be removed and stiffening ribs will need to be installed on the inside of the back deck if you want full access. The amount of internal ribs needed will depend on how big you want the hatch and how much storage you need. If just a round day hatch you can just cut a small portion of the stringer away and leave the rest in place without the need for any extra strengthening.

Ranga wrote: The V6 has them already from the factory and is as comfortable and nearly as fast.
Anything is possible in composites.
There is however a stringer supporting the back deck so that will have to be removed and stiffening ribs will need to be installed on the inside of the back deck if you want full access. The amount of internal ribs needed will depend on how big you want the hatch and how much storage you need. If just a round day hatch you can just cut a small portion of the stringer away and leave the rest in place without the need for any extra strengthening.

Makes sense. an 12" circular hatch would be perfect. Does anyone make a pre-fab one that could be dropped in without a lot of modification?

I'm on a pretty tight budget (heck, I'm too poor to pay attention), so modifying what I have is my only option.

Bit of fantasy for you

waverider wrote: Bit of fantasy for you

That's a beaut! Due to my skill level and doing lots of rough seas I'd do the same thing to a V8, if I had F-U money.

Any boating shop will have round day hatches of various sizes. Not very expensive.