: 250 hours has brought me to a finish on stripping hull/deck. The
: Night Heron calls for a 16 x 33 opening for cockpit. I'm in
: Kansas...kayak will be on ponds and calm lakes. Have seen a lot
: of specs that show many other kayaks with 19" width opening
: for cockpit. Figure there is a reason why this particular (
: Night Heron from clc) is only 16"...but..hoping it is is
: because people tend to take it out onto the ocean??!? Cut out a
: hole ON CARDBOARD for 16 x 33...uh...this ol coot found that
: 16" width a tight squeeze. DOES ANYONE KNOW A REASON WHY I
: CAN'T GO TO 17 OR 18" ON WIDTH?? Once I start
: cutting...well....hate to find that this design doesn't like a
: bigger opening. while we are at it...anyone have a good
: suggestion for purchasing a Nice Seat in the 50-75 dollar range?

From one old coot to another, make the opening wider. Nick says that the cockpit size is up to the individual. On seats, see the CLC site. I have the Happy Bottom and am mostly satisfied but tend to get numb legs. The Hot Seat Grande also looks good. There are a number of sites with instructions on making your own seat out of minicell.

Charles Robinson