Hey, a bretheren of the school of heavy duty! Like you, I prefer things strong. Which is probably why I like the sound of a diesel engine, enjoy tractor pulls, and thought driving an aircraft carrier was cool.

However, last night I did get shown that my one layer of 4 oz glass on the outside of the hull, combined with 6" tape on the internal seams is probably adequate. With the help of my wife, while pulling the unfinished and most notably undecked boat from the rafters we, er, "tested" the strength. She swears she wasn't pulling, and that it's confusion on my part to think she was walking out with her end of the boat while I holler for her to stop. The end result was the boat crashing onto the concrete floor from about 4', and my 180 lbs landing on of it from the freezer top, all with the boat on its side. Scouts honor, other then scratches, the boat sustained no damage. Narry a cracking sound was even heard.

True, some of that is the way I built it. Overkill on the internal tape, beveled and glued stitch joints, real bulkheads, etc. And some of it is the way I landed on it. But I still had visions of shattered dreams as I came down upon it.

> I tend to over-engineer things anyway, and my boat is no exception.