: ..... 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.

This is an interesting discussion, and a lot of good techniques have been cited. What's missing is the "why" in glassing or other methods to beef up decks and hulls. In my opinion, many kit boats are underdesigned to achieve favorable but probably unrealistic weights. If you're building a racing hull for flat water, sure --- go for three mil decks and even convert the bulkheads to frames! But if you're going to use a boat for routine paddling, take a look at some of the designs offered and assess whether or not they'll hold up in everyday use --- assisted rescues, self rescues, even routine entering and exiting can really strain cockpit rims and deck areas just aft of the cockpit. Many of these are not well supported, and can --- and do --- crack.

My North Bay has a little extra structure added --- an extra full frame and carlins aft, and an extra frame forward, among other things. It is solid, and I built in a Henderson foot pump. The school solution weight for this boat is 40 pounds; with all the extra support and the pump, mine is 46 pounds --- and my personal bogie was 45, so I'm happy.

For those who have kayaked a lot before building a kit boat, a lot of this is just common sense. We go out and look at all the stress cracks in our FRG boats, and beef up those areas. For those who are new to kayaking, take your chances on using lighter layups than called for, but be prepared for problems if you're really going to USE your boat.

Jack Martin