Hi Ian! 1. No need for bulkheads. The hull of a sufski is "dry". It is a closed body , you sit on top of this body, while you sit inside a sea kayak. So for sea kayaks you have to have bulkheads to keep storage dry. 2. Please compare the bow of a surfski with the bow of your sea kayak. Completely different shape, impossible to place a hatch similar to a sea kayak.

Hi Rainer. Thanks for your input. 1. As a lifetime sea kayaker, surfski paddler and ex-boat builder, I will have to disagree (in part) with your thinking. Sea kayaks don't have bulkheads just because of the cockpit situation. When exploring and touring rugged coasts and loaded boat landings there is always the risk of damaging the hull and getting a leak. The bulkheads provide independent floatation areas so that the kayak won't sink. It is for this reason some Euro coastguards such as France insist on bulkheads when paddling more than 200 m offshore. 2. Much like a ski, most sea kayaks do not have flat areas on the foredeck either. The hatch rim is fitted to a moulded hatch recess in the shaped deck. There is no reason why this cannot be done on a ski. It is more likely that the cockpit entry hatch was a later afterthought.

The boats in the video are the basic configuration, if you need bulkheads you may choose this option when you order a boat. Exploration of rugged coasts is not the primary purpose of surf skis. I am not a boat designer, but I can tell you this: I would not place a hatch at the foredeck out of 2 reasons: 1st, it reduces the stability of the bow. I have seen many videos of Surf Skis breaking into pieces when nose diving in the surf zone. Second, it will completely destroy the (in my eyes) absolutely beautiful silhouette of Stellar boats. As a liftimie paddler you will know: different use, different configuration or even different boat. I will not send you with an S16S to explore Firelands coastline, promised!!! :-)

Shame on me, Ian! So sorry for giving wrong information. The standard configuration comes with bulkheads. Really sorry for that...

No shame involved. I have been given a variety of feedback on this, so I guess it's not something that many have thought about so far. Paddling in both worlds of surfski and sea kayak I can see how differently each group sees things. I am a bit unusual in that I have always wanted a fully hatched surfski for touring. Many years ago I retrofitted a ski cockpit onto a sea kayak. It worked well and I felt safer of solo trips. I was one of the first to buy a V8 in the UK. I was impressed by its weight, speed and ability to catch waves. It's taken a while for any company to fit hatches for a true cross over ski/kayak