: It's too bad that the butt joints are the first thing that Pygmy builders are
: faced with. I spent a lot of time trying to get them perfect when I was
: building my Tern, and learned much later that once the boat is put
: together, the glass on the butt joints can be completely sanded off -- the
: glass serves to connect the plywood pieces during the early stages of
: building the boat, but is unnecessary once the hull and deck are glassed.

Agree there.

: Precoat the joint areas with epoxy, let them cure, then brush on a thin layer
: of epoxy, lay on the glass tape, wet it out with epoxy (using the chip

You might consider sealing all the pieces, both sides, before joining too. One complaint I've heard on Pygmys is staining at the taped joints. Pretreating all of the wood prior to joining can eleviate this. Pygmy doesn't say so in their directions, but their "demo" building page on the WEB site seems to show them doing this. I didn't and did get some staining, but it wasn't a big deal for me.

: ... and I found that using hard
: transparent plastic report covers over the joints -- weighted with a brick

Yeah. That's what I used. They provided some of the plastic. I probably should have bought more, but just kept reusing the stuff they gave me. That became a problem as it got scratched and began to adhere better to the epoxy and was harder to remove. Also, be carefull with the excess epoxy and the bricks. I also ended up epoxying a brick to the joint at one point. Major panic point :-) I mangaed to break it off and sand out the cement residue, but it did make me more careful !

: It all gets easier after the butt joints (well, there are a few more
: challenges facing you with glassing the inside of the hull). You might as
: well order a dozen or more foam rollers and foam brushes now, and lay in a
: stock of about 100 pairs of latex gloves. And you have your respirator,
: right?

But of course!

Bill