Good points - I think the ceiling moulding will work, as the NBXL has a large deck to chine angle, even at the cockpit. I'm concerned about point loads on rocky beaches, as I'm in San Francisco and most of the paddle spots are... well, lets just say most people use plastic boats. I'm sure my boat won't be a featherweight - I just want as much strength as possible for the weight I do have.

I'm stripping the deck, so will have glass top and bottom on the deck. I also plan to put periodic foam/graphite ribs along the bottom of the deck too... especially on the aft deck, as it's almost completely flat. Hatches will be recessed like OneOceanKayaks, but I'll turn the whole hatch area into a reinforcement by continuing the extra layup all the way to the sheer.

: Since the CLC sheer clamp needs to be carved to fit the curvature of the
: deck, I suspect the ceiling moulding wouldn't work. Some parts would be
: carved too thin or there'd be gaps between the moulding (right angle) and
: deck. (Just a guess, there. Perhaps the NBXL has almost entirely 90*
: hull/deck angle?)

: Maybe to accomplish the same effect (with more work, unfortunately) fit your
: shear clamps, plane/sand to correct curvature, then router/sand/gouge the
: cove inside?

: I suspect you don't need to vaccuum bag to minimize epoxy/glass ratio. Check
: the archives for squeegie technique. Also put down a thin fill coat of
: epoxy before the glass to seal the wood & reduce further absorbtion
: when it's time to glass.

: There's also been a fair amount of discussion about multiple light layers of
: 'glass being stronger for the weight compared to a single heavier layer.
: Again, check the archives.

: If you're willing to reduce rigidity and strength, you can cut down on weight
: with a lighter fiberglass schedule. Minimal 'glass will still be strong
: enough while in the water. It's those small-area stress loads like
: dropping it on a rocky beach, banging against another boat during rescue,
: or doing a re-entry in rough water that are most likely to break
: something.

: Only you can decide what is the right balance between minimal weight and
: battleship armor. But I suggest not reducing the 'glass schedule TOO much
: from design spec - CLC's older "standard" 'glass layup was
: pretty minimal. I guess they're now including deck glass with most kits,
: but even so it's not a really robust layup.

: Val