Bulkhead mods for water bottle

[leclercraven]

I drink a heck of a lot of water when I paddle. The thing is, I bought a Taureau in the fall and tried the bottle holder grove thing and it just doesn't work. The bottle is too heavy with water and it and slides out when I roll. I saw a video made by Paul Mason where you see a water bottle stuck into the bulkhead. Can anybody tell me the best way to make a hole like that in the bulkhead. Is it a good idea? I was even thinking of installing a D-Ring on the side of the seat to clip a bottle onto it. What do other Taureau owners do? ...a hole in the bulkhead, D-Ring or something else?

[DougB]

I put a water bottle hole like that in my L'edge bulkhead.

I used a hole saw to cut, then pulled the foam out with long needle nose pliers and repeated until I got to the proper depth. To adjust the size, I tapped sand paper around the hole saw and reemed it out until the water bottle fit snug.

It works great. The bottle never falls out.

[leclercraven]

I put a water bottle hole like that in my L'edge bulkhead.

I used a hole saw to cut, then pulled the foam out with long needle nose pliers and repeated until I got to the proper depth. To adjust the size, I tapped sand paper around the hole saw and reemed it out until the water bottle fit snug.

It works great. The bottle never falls out.

Alright, thanks, I think I'll try that!

[Shep]

I like to keep my throwbag in the "waterbottle" slot. If things fall out, you probably need to replace the bungee cord. Not hard on the back, but a real annoyance on the front, where the bulkhead makes it hard to get access to the area under the deck.

[eddyhops]

Get a piece of pvc or other tube, sharpen the edges at one end, spray a little wd40 on it, twist it in, dig it out. It's a snap.

I have about 10 different sizes from 3/4" to 3 1/4" of pvc or copper tube. I'll usually drill a hole at the unsharpened in to put a t-handle on just to make it easier.

[Mikey B]

I like water too when paddling, always used to tuck two water bottles up ahead of the bulkhead in front of my knees under the airbag (still do that in all my boats)and had one tethered with a carabiner for quicker access. Often thought about putting a hole in the bulkhead but never got around to it. Never lost a bottle when rolling or swimming

[Paddle Power]

I've put a hole in a bulkhead for my water bottle, works really well.

The only down side is I don't like paddle without the hole filled. So even if I'm not using a water bottle (say cold water paddling) I still put a water bottle in the hole. That way the bulkhead foam keeps it shape, etc.

[Wendy]

For winter the hole is a good place to put pin kit in a wide mouth bottle