: Just recently occurred to me: (no experience w/ this)

: The surface veneer of ply for stitch and glue yaks is so thin and easily
: damaged by over sanding, the stitching process, and esp the discoloration
: prob of joining ,whether scarf or especially butt - would it not make huge
: sense to put a wetting out coat on first before doing ANYTHING - even
: cutting out? Chipping would be reduced on stitching and cutting and
: planing to shape, discoloration reduced on the joining, obviously
: potential staining reduced, oversanding would give clues when bare wood
: reached, marking out would remain on surface. And any one using double
: cutting for symmetry or design inlay layout would have a more protected
: surface for templates or ply stacking.

: Are the down sides - of slightly extra wt and mechanical bonding of
: subsequent glass and joints - overweighing of some of these benefits??

: -mick

Hey Mick

I am getting ready to start on my little Rob-Roy canoe, which is a very simple stitch and glue, having only 4 identical parts to stitch. I was thinking of the same thing, but, my one reservation was: How about flexibility? With the coat of sealer ( wet-out ) on the plywood, how much flexibility are you possibly losing? I know some of the kayaks using 6 or 8 pieces have less bend in them than others, but on this canoe there are some pretty good bends. Otherwise, it sounds like a very good idea. Just a thought......

Rehd

Rehd