: now..do you feel you got it sanded smooth well enough that you don't need to
: sand into the wood at all anymore?

Yep, I feel I got it sanded as smoothly as I wanted it to be, otherwise I wouldn't have stained it. Of course, the stain really shows those areas that I missed when I wet it out to raise the grain. I went back to using a block plane instead of a fairing board on this kayak. Won't do that again. So it goes. Luckily, it's on the bottom and that will be beat up in about two weeks of use. Especially, since this will probably be launched on ice.

: What about when you attach the deck and
: hull along the shear where the most stubborn sanding/filling takes place..

I don't feel it's going to be much of an issue along the sheer. By the time the deck and hull are joined, both will be under glass, so any sanding is on the glass. I've never really had any huge issues along that seam. Maybe I'm lucky. Anyway, without taking risks, the best rewards are lost. The reward of this color hull is going to be very nice. Exciting, really. I don't think I've ever been this excited about the hull at this point before.

: I want to stain but i keep getting these mental aversions about items like
: the slight blotchiness you are dealing with.

Don't let the mental aversions stop you. Go for it!

Anyway, I think I jumped on the worry wagon too soon. The stain seems to have soaked more into the wood and evened out. Don't know if that had anything to do with using the retarder, which allowed it a longer drying time (at least an hour). I just checked and it looks much better than right after I finished it. Might still add a coat to darken it. Anyone know if this will work?