Be VERY careful if you use a belt sander. If you lean it to one side or the other the edge of the belt will quickly cut a deep slot in your wood. A 5" RO sander has almost as long a footprint as the typical belt sander and is much easier to control on the curved surfaces of the kayak.

> Ross, You've gotten a lot of good advice, and if I may, I'd like to add a
> little tid-bit if I may. Paul is correct about the belt sander being the
> best choice if you still want to take a crack at smoothing out the waves.
> Because of it's long surface you will get a better cut, and just don't
> bare down on it. The sander will do the job, just let it float on the
> surface and guide it with both hands. Also, redwood is one of the softest
> woods there is, and it has been my experience that you should never use
> more than 100 grit on the sander. That is gonna remove all the wood you
> need and then you can go back with a lighter grit on the ROS to clean it
> up. Two things I learned over the years was that with the
> "Flat-Grain"(EVIL) material you don't want to work on one spot
> for any length of time. Your best technique is to work a large area, with
> long strokes and NEVER work in one spot trying to level something. With
> long strokes, you don't get any too deep in the soft wood and with good
> clean, sharp belts it cuts everything about even. When you go over it with
> the ROS, do it in long quick strokes as well.