Jim,

1. I would consider pre-coating the panels (outside only) before glueing or wiring them together. This is purely to eliminate the color banding at the butt joints. It's not a big issue. I might even go so far as to NOT put tape over the butt joint on the outside in order to eliminate the bump. Instead, I would beef up the reinforcement on the inside. There is some risk in this, so proceed with caution. Another possibility is to sand off the outside tape once the panels are glued together but before the fiberglass layer is applied. The best idea yet was developed by a friend of mine. He used a very thin but strong spline joint in place of butt joint tape, and it looks great.

2. On my second boat I installed the bulkheads and the foot peg hardware before joining the deck to the hull. This was soooo much easier to do (than after joining).

3. Epoxy resins shrink when they cure. On a large end pour, this can pull in the sides of the hull causing the deck to overlap. To avoid this shrinkage I built a cardboard dam level with the sheer line and poured in stages. When ready to join deck to hull, I squirted a generous amount of thickened epoxy into the small space above the damn so that some would ooze out when the two pieces were joined. There was no need to stand the boat on end for an end pour.

4. If you are putting in hatches, wait to install inside sheer line tape until your hatch opening are cut.

5. I have found the Pygmy Tern design to be very strong, light, and stiff. The cheek plates (seat supports) are the only apparent weakness. I broke mine at the top joint performing rolls. Be sure to filet and tape the cheek plate joint, top and bottom on the inside (between hull and plate) very well and you should not have any problems.

6. While repairing the cheek plates I found that the seat bolt was elongating the hole in the wood support (cheek plate). I suspect the bolt threads are chewing their way through the wood when I press hard on the foot pegs. A metal bushing placed over the bolt and in the hole solved the problem.

Most people end up carving a custom foam seat to better spread the load on the backside. This usually does away with the numb leg problem many experience with the thermarest seat.

I can't stand paddling a boat without having complete control, so I added aggressive knee hooks. I "keyholed" the cockpit with the knee hooks so I would not have to sit with my knees too far apart.

Last, I would give serious consideration to picking a model with the recessed rear coaming. It's much more comfortable for rolling. If your are really committed to the Osprey and don't mind doing some custom work and buying some extra materials, you can eliminate the rear coaming peak that so many find annoying.

You can find photos of my two Arctic Terns at: http://www.metakrome.com/kayak/kframe.html

Ted