plating similarHi John, excellent idea I hope it works for you, I'm contemplating similar. But, I'm interested in the blue stuff. Looks like your kayak might float pretty high (and dry) in an empty upside down condition with a minimum of water to shoo-away. I know when I have practiced recovering from kayak operator error mistakes a kayak full of water is a big, sometimes insurmountable problem to overcome. I have to laugh when I contemplate trying to push the stern up while swimming to get some water out (or should I say letting the stern push me down into the cold and wet and unbreathable). Yes sir, science got that one right: to every action there is an equal and but wetter reaction.