A 3mm-wood boat is very do-able, and could be just as strong as a standard 4mm boat. Our friend George Roberts routinely builds strippers with 1/8" cedar strips and 1/8" strips of mahogany plywood. He claims his 10-pound-lighter boats are stronger than the more standard (4mm ply w/6oz cloth) methods. It's all a trade-off; thinner wood necessitates a stronger fiberglass lay-up.

The question then is what lay-up is needed for strong, reliable service when you use 3mm plywood. This question is still in debate and surfaces every so often on this site...

Dean

> 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, 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