There was a similar thread a few weeks ago, when I was building my tern, to which I responded. My response prompted a call from John Lockwood (Pygmy's founder). Can't complain about that type of customer service. We discussed this problem at some length. I had already glassed the hull of my boat but not the deck. Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up reinforcing the butt joints on the inside of the deck after assembly but before attaching it to the hull. I used scrap plywood for the center joints and 9 oz. tape for the stern joints. I then attached the deck to the hull, removed the tape on the outside of the joints (it comes off quite easily if you work a razor blade under an edge and lift) and glassed the whole thing with 6 oz. cloth. Perfect! I wish I had done this with the hull. I guess this doesn't help much if your boat is glassed but a new builder might want to consider it. By the way, I came up with this idea after talking to John Lockwood so I'm not sure what he would think of it.

George F. Johnson