A quick question - does using 3 mm ply in a stitch-and-glue, hard-chine boat's hull make a really significant difference in the strength of the hull? I'm considering building either a CLC North Bay or a Sea Kayaker Greenlander, probably with the same modifications as listed below, but would like to make it as light as possible. How much strength would be compromised? We'd have to consider impact resistance, puncture resistance... etc. Any thoughts?

I guess when it comes to equipment like this it's better to be safe than sorry, but I'm still wondering. Thanks in advance,

Nathan

> I e-mailed the guy in the picture in Mike's post and found out that he's
> only about 20 miles away from me in Grand Haven, Michigan. He lowered the
> side panels a bit and did a custom bulged deck, similar to the
> locally-made Betsie Bay Kayaks and Superior Kayaks. This involved
> installing shear clamps and creating a tortured-plywood deck, which isn't
> part of the Sea Kayaker design, but is what I would do given the
> opportunity. He used 4mm okoume for the whole boat, but would recommend
> using 3mm on the deck. He didn't get as much camber to the deck as he
> would have liked; thinner wood would allow for more bending. And given the
> lowering of the sides, he says it can get to be a fairly wet ride.

> Dean