Hi Tom,

For quiet water paddling [my preference] you should be fine with the light cloth. You might want to put some extra cloth on the wear areas.

I have been cutting my own tape from a light, tight weave cloth. The cloth has about 32 strands per inch and I think it is 3.75 oz weight.

Since you are dealing with a frame construction you will likely not need to tape the inside seams.

The lay-up I use for an unframed S&G is one layer of my homemade 3 inch tape directly on the seam followed with a layer of cloth that covers the bottom [done in two pieces overlapping at the keel] and running up the sides. The end result is three layers at the keel, two at the chime and one on the bottom and sides. The bottom/side glass is from the scrap that is cut off from the cloth used to cover the hull.

With the 1/8" luaun I like to apply a thin sealer coat to the outside of the hull the evening before I glass. I go over the wet resin with a heat gun to thin it and get good penetration into the luaun. Toughens up the wood, controls out-gassing and helps me later when I wet out the tight cloth that I am using.

My first order of RAKA resin will be here today [missed UPS yesterday] so I cannot comment on it yet. Vaclav seems happy with RAKA and I have not seen any negative comments about their product. I was going to go with their 350 hardener but the person at RAKA recommended that I stick with the standard kit with the 606 and 610 hardeners due to temperatures in my area. I am in a RAKA/West situation as well and I don't anticipate any problems. If something strange does happen I will let you know.

As far as "blushing" goes - I always presume that there is some and will do a thorough cleaning if the resin has come to full cure. Call me paranoid - but I don't like surprises. Sequential "fill coats" applied as soon as possible do not require cleaning unless that have been contaminated some way.

Hope this helps.

Hank