: On my first boat, a CLC Millcreek 16.5, I merrily fiberglassed the deck, the
: cockpit, and also taped the hull before I put on the 6oz glass.

: It is so heavy I cant really pick it up.

: How dumb was that - does anyone not glass their decks? I guess the cockpit
: was overkill. CLC manual mentions that glassing the hull itself is
: optional. I guess if the boat were never going to bang anything then that
: might work out best. The lighter the boat the more you want to use it.

: Also do you save enough weight with thinner cloth to bother? I know you save
: a few ounces of glass, but then must also use less epoxy, right?

: I'm about to fillet up another boat, and want to optimize the weight.

: thanks in advance

I haven't weighed my daughters Chessie 14, but it's pretty light right now. I'll weigh it after I get all the deck rigging in place.

At this point the deck is not glassed, but I think I'll do it anyway. I'll use lighter glass than the hull (3 or 4oz). It's just to protect the deck in front of the coaming from the random dings with the paddle that an 11 year old will subject it to. I'll be fairly aggressive in getting excess resin off as well. I mix the resin in small batches, and just squeegie it on. Seems to use a lot less than with a brush or roller.

I taped the inside seams, but rather than leaving the copper in place, I tabbed the seams, and then they were cured I removed the copper. Then I taped and filleted right over the whole thing.

I glassed inside the cockpit but not behind the bulkheads. I didn't fill the weave in the cockpit. With the weave still showing, it adds a bit of traction to an otherwise slippery surface.

I hope this helps.

coop