: I am considering building a tandem s&g kayak for protected water touring and
: am a little concerned about the durability issue given the apparent
: lightness (4mm okume) of the wood portion of the composite material. Can
: anyone address this concern for me? Understand that I'm not looking for
: any guarantees, just some reasonable assurance that the boat will hold up
: under my normal use (20 heavy days per season). thanks

Doug, the short answer is yes it will be durable enough,,but you've left out the other essential part of the question,that glass and 'poxy stuff. Ends of the boat will wear a lot so only one layer of 6oz glass on 2sq." of an end will wear through quickly. Durability for a boat designed for 200lbs is a big difference than durability for boats designed for 400lbs or 100lbs,,which are payloads that might go into different sized craft all using 4mm ply.

You can be in protected waters launching from a mud shore or in protected waters launching from a rocky shore. If it's mud then 6oz glass and 4mmply is fine, if it's a load of 400lbs and any chance that 400lbs is sitting on a rock (while unpleasant wouldn't be the end of the world for a single kayak and 150lb paddler), then maybe a little more glass would be a good idea. Careful launchings and landings are better than overbuilding,,I'll try it someday.