Reviewer:

Bill W.

Rating:

3

Date:

10/18/2012

Review:

After reading all the reviews concerning this bulkhead, I find myself in agreement with the majority. A pre-cut, model-specific bulkhead would have made this a 5 star review. I started by tracing the intact bulkhead on a piece of foam poster board, then taking inside measurements of the kayak.I cut an inch from the top and sides of my template, then fitted it into the kayak.I then shaved the bulkhead with an electric carving knife to the size of the template. I struggled with the adhesive tube and suffered a blow-out. which reduced me to smearing the adhesive by hand. I followed up the initial coat of adhesive after 24 hour cure timeby masking off the bulkhead and kayak walls with blue painters tape and applied a bead of silver silicone caulk,removed the tape immediately, and ended up with a real professional look. I LOVE having the capacity for dry storage, and feel that it was money well spent and makes my 2008 Pamlico 100 an even better platform. Delivery and ease of order with ACK was 5 star.

It is close to impossible to make a bulkhead that will fit a polyethylene boat right out of the box due to the inherent nature of polyethylene which after the molding process will change shape and shrink at different rates depending upon temperature. There will always be a need to modify the replacement bulkhead to get a proper fit.

Reviewer:

Randall

Rating:

3

Date:

7/13/2012

Review:

Its great to have a bulkhead available for the Pamlico 100. However, Ive got to agree with everyone else. The manufacturer should have provided a simple posterboard template for the various boats that this bulkhead will fit. I gave it 3 stars because of that. Otherwise, its an excellent idea and a quality product.

Reviewer:

Christy

Rating:

3

Date:

4/6/2011

Review:

I was surprised the bulkhead did not fit better since it was for the Pamlico. It took me about an hour and a half and then another 30 minutes to give it another once over with the glue. I like my dry storage.

Reviewer:

SMJ

Rating:

3

Date:

9/11/2010

Review:

I placed this bulkhead into a Pamlico 120. The hardest part of the entire process was measuring the template; I used poster board, but it was too rigid and was difficult to manipulate inside the kayak. I cut it into several pieces and taped them together (as the directions and all of the internet advice suggested) and ended up with a template that was fairly close to what I needed. It did not work in the end, and I shaved, cut and sanded the bulkhead down to a reasonable size and shape for the kayak. Overall, not a pleasant experience.

Reviewer:

james rudick

Rating:

2

Date:

7/15/2010

Review:

I'm sorry, but how difficult would it be for W.S. to provide a template if the boat model was specified? Or better yet, cut it out for us. And why on earth would they build a boat with a watertight rear hatch without a sealed compartment? And why don't they offer us this little fix for free? Two stars is a bit generous, no?

Reviewer:

Tom

Rating:

4

Date:

11/22/2009

Review:

Instructions were good. After a couple of attempts with corrugated cardboard, I went with heavy poster board/cardboard combo which worked fine. Had no major problems and job was done in about an hour and a half. My glue was OK, seemed to take a long time to cure. I wish that Pamlico had supplied the kayaks with a bulkhead when I got them.

Reviewer:

Larry

Rating:

4

Date:

8/29/2009

Review:

The directions were fairly helpful. I found Scott's advice very helpful for creating the template, "used corrugated cardboard for the main center cross piece and then fill out the top and bottom with poster board". I had similar problems with the glue as others. In fact the end of the tube ruptured and I had big gobs of glue to scrape up out of the bottom of the kayak. Cutting out the template was the longest part of the job. I completed the project in about 2.5 hours. I like the product and now I have a dry storage bay. I am glad I found the ACK site. ACK was good at providing tracking from time of order through shipping!

Reviewer:

Riverrat Dick

Rating:

4

Date:

8/27/2009

Review:

Had some problems with the glue tube, but better it comes out a little slow than too fast. Took a few days to cure but seems to make a good bond. Needed to shave a bit of the foam around the edges and then needed a mallet to force the foam into place for a nice tight fit. Not exactly an easy job but with the help of a kayak buddy of mine we got the process done in less than two hours. A six pack of beer and a little sense of humor might also be required. Has made a great improvement on the boat. Now that hatch on the back of my Pamlico 100 makes sense, dry storage and a bulkhead to keep the water out going thru whitewater, no more rear airbags needed.

Reviewer:

Ethan

Rating:

3

Date:

7/30/2009

Review:

Same problem as Dian had, the provided glue is expired so it does not flow out of the cap at all. I did manage to get it to explode through a rip in the tube all over my kayak while trying to squeeze it out of the cap. 4 feet away from my kayak! Install is a pain in the yak! I tried to make a template before I bought this product but it was never accurate. I didnt realize until after I bought this that it also needed a template...."thanks for the heads up" I ended up cutting exactly an inch off across the top from corner point to point after taking some measurements. Then a rubber mallot helped talk it into place. It would be 5 star if I only rated the material of the bulkhead itself and shipping time. It gets a 3 because of expired glue and lack of a template.

Reviewer:

Scott

Rating:

4

Date:

7/14/2009

Review:

I have 2 Pamlicos so I used the same pattern for both. For the pattern I used corrugated cardboard for the main center cross piece and then fill out the top and bottom with poster board. I used an electric carving knife to cut. Had both in and caulked in 2.5 hrs. Cut the foam a little larger than the pattern. It will compress a little and have a good tight fit. Highly recommended

Reviewer:

julie

Rating:

5

Date:

6/13/2009

Review:

like the product but haven't installed it yet. good to read the other reviews for a little insight.

Reviewer:

Dian

Rating:

4

Date:

6/5/2009

Review:

I've been trying to make a bulkhead for months, so was glad to find this product. The instructions for making the pattern were helpful the basic core of the pattern should be fairly stiff (corregated cardboard)and as close as possible to the size needed for this to work. Then attach something more flexible, like posterboard, for the edge. The biggest problem I had was that the glue supplied has a shelf life of 6 months and was too old. It was very dry and, even with a LARGE hole in the applicator tip,it eventually broke out the side of the tube. I finished the job with silicone caulk--actually the brand shown in the photo. This was not what came with my order.