> I'm building a CLC Patuxent and the suggestion is that the fillets should
> be wide enough to cover the copper wire (which I intend to leave in). Is
> this really necessary, since a less wide fillet should be strong enough
> and the epoxied tape over the fillet should cover the wire. It just seems
> to me that 3 times 17.5 feet of wide fillet might add considerably to
> weight without necessarily improving strength. But then again, I don't
> want the boat falling apart under me. Comments welcomed.

I likewise am putting together a Patuxent and I followed the rule of the fillet depth should equal the thickness of the plywood. In order to keep the wires covered I made sure that I sinched them down tight flattening them out as I went.

cheers.