> I am planning on building a stich-and-glue kayak this winter, but have
> some questions about the epoxy. Everything I read refers to epoxy for
> filling the seams, but they don't say what kind. A friend of mine who used
> to do auto-body work recomended Dura-glass. Would this work for filling
> the seams, or do I need a special epoxy? Also, what should I use to coat
> the outside of the plywood with to water-proof it? Fiberglass resin or
> maybe fiberglass gel-coat? Do I need to use fiberglass mesh on the entire
> hull to reinforce it or is just water-proofed plywood alright? This will
> be for lake fishing and will probably not see a river or rough water. Any
> advise will be greatly apreciated!

Fred,

Dura-glass should work but not as well as epoxy. I am assuming that Dura-glass is polyester based. Polyester resins are not as waterproof and generally do not bond as well to wood as epoxy does. Epoxy is more user friendly than polyester resins. The hardener for polyester resins is much more volatile than epoxy hardener.

All that said, many people have built very nice long lasting kayaks with polyester resins. I looked into doing it myself, but epoxy is much better to work with.

You shouldn't need to coat the whole kayak with glass. I would highly recommend glass taping the seams. I am currently looking at building a kayak this way for my brother to keep the cost down. I will be using 1/4" luan and glassing the seams, then encapsulating the whole boat in epoxy. I'll also be building two skin boats for my niece and nephew.

Check out Raka if you want to keep costs down, I've heard they have the best prices.

If you are on an extremely tight budget skin kayaks are the cheapest to make. They are also lighter than plywood boats. My Putz Walrus 17 is 34 pounds and cost $250. I could have made it lighter and for less money. I splurged on a few things to make it easier. On an average lake I would take my skin kayak over my plywood kayak hand down. It is faster, lighter, quieter, turns better, and tracks straighter than my plywood kayak, but I lig=ke the beauty of wood kayaks.

Mike