: Dave,

: I've always heard that the football should go on the outside of the main
: fabric. The reason is that if you damage the outer fibers, it's OK; the
: football is a sacrificial layer. If you put the football on the inside and
: you damage the outer layers, you are damaging the main layer of glass and
: it might weaken your hull. It's better to have the main layer more
: protected. If you hit a sharp rock and the gouge goes through both layers,
: it doesn't matter which one is on the outside. You are, however, much
: more likely to get superficial scratches, and many more of them, than the
: ones that go all the way to the wood.

: I agree with John about putting the stronger lay-up where it will be in
: tension. I like the idea of using 6 oz. inside/4 oz. outside for the deck
: and 4 oz. inside/6 oz. outside for the hull. That's what I did with my
: son's kayak. Here in S. Florida, it's not likely that I'll be dropped on
: top of a huge rock by a rougue wave. I'd rather have the strength on the
: outside of the hull to hold my bodyweight and any cargo that I might have.

: Hope this helps,

: Pedro Almeida

Biggest reason to put the "football" on top is when it's put under it tends to trap either a bunch of resin at the edges of that piece of cloth or you end up with air there, neither have any strength. Best to put any additional cloth on top to elimiate this.

Bill H.