I had the factory installed styrofoam in the forward v-berth hatch also. The stuff was all jumbled in there and seemed to me untidy and a waste of space, but I figured if Jerry M. thought it was needed, I'd leave it in there. But, I did reorganize the whole mess. First I removed all the foam, then with a little cutting and shaping, (using a hacksaw blade) I fit almost all the original foam back into the hold leaving a 3 to 4-inch perimiter around the hatch opening. I then lined the hold with some salvaged 4" square closed-cell foam packing. The pieces were long enough to hold the styrofoam in place, The 4" liner foam was jamed tightly into place and glued togethed with adhesive caulk. Now I have a usable space the same size as the hatch opening and have the floatation as well. I use the space for an extra anchor and rode. Although, I think next summer I may contert it to a beer cooler.

I left the big chunks of styrofoam under the cockpit, but added several water-wiggles, bungeed together, on each side. They probably wouldn't help much, but I've never had the opportunity, or need, to find out first hand.

Don; M15-248

Happy New Year.

PS; Mike and Kit, Mark and Roberta, Ian et all. With the snow pack at 155% of normal, we might even have enough water in the lake to sail this coming summer.

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