Shawn,

How about doing a spline joint. Put a 3.5 circular saw blade on a shaper and cut a deep groove in the edges of the joints. Put in a piece of plywood the same thickness as the saw blade. The joints become self indexing and tape is not needed. It eliminates the staining and makes for a perfect seam. Someone down here in Tacoma did it with his two Cohos and it is the nicest joint that I have seen.

The guy also made smaller recessed cockpits for the Cohos, and they may come out below weight. He used a mixture of 4 oz., 6 oz., and 7 oz. satin cloth. He also used System Three clear Coat for the wet out. After he gets the kayaks in the water, pics will show up on the SSWSKC website.

Mike

: I'm helping a friend with some local "tech support" as he's
: building an Arctic Tern and a Coho. He started with the insides of the
: butt joints, but is having a problem getting that fine-weave glass tape to
: wet out fully and disappear.

: I told him I thought he should brush the epoxy onto both sides of the tape
: before applying it to the wood to make sure it get a chance to saturate--I
: didn't think the epoxy was traveling completely through the tape, causing
: his white spots. Any other thoughts?

: Shawn