I will be building a double paddle canoe of my own design in the near future, and I would like it to be as light as possible consistent with reasonable strength. This version will be sort of stitch & glue but built over station molds. It is a shallow V with eight panels (four per side) and the angles should help stiffen the boat. Four mm ply and 4 oz. glass would produce a light boat, but I am not sure I am comfortable with that combination. Now the question: what is the weight-strength tradeoff between using 4mm ply and 6 oz. cloth vs. 6mm ply and 4 oz. cloth? Are there other combinations that would be better, i.e., extra layer of glass on hull bottom?

Thanks for your help.

Chris Luneski