: I have some questions before I order supplies for my stich and glue.

: 1) How much of the cock pit is usually glassed. Just the bottom or up the
: sides. If I glass the inside of cockpit w/ 4 oz. glass, can I skip the
: tape on the seems through the cockpit section.

Many stitch-n-glue kayaks are only taped on the inside. My Pygmy Arctic Tern has a layer of 6-oz. cloth on the inside of the hull up to 1" above the hard chines, and no tape inside. It's done with 2 triangular pieces of cloth that overlap in the cockpit area to add strength.

: 4) How comfortable are those Thermarest mats that Pygmy sells?

Surprisingly, not bad, especially for short 1-2 hour paddles. Every butt's a bit different, though. Some people have complained of their feet falling asleep due to bad circulation from sitting on thin pads. Once you carve a seat from minicel foam or lay one up with fiberglass, custom-sized to your own derierre, you'll never go back to a thin pad, though. I love the sculpted foam seat in my Outer Island.

Dean