: I agree about the mold being quite an involved process...much more difficult
: and time consuming than building the actual boat. Of course...with a
: really good mold you can then build more boats. I have built a mold using
: a basic form, paper machae (don't know how to spell that), and plaster of
: paris. I used it as a male form once, then later made a female form off of
: it. It worked...but I probably won't ever do it again. Most wood strip and
: S&G designs would have to be modified slightly in order to work using a
: mold.

Interesting thread here. Why bother with hand carved or hand laid molds? Put the to-be-copied kayak ONTO (not INto) a large plastic bag. Spray some expanding foam into the bag and let cure. Instant perfectly conforming mold. If the bag is big enough for the entire hull to sit in, then only 2 halves need to be made. A bit of bracing so that the foam is held solidly would also be a big help. The foam will try to float the yak so you'll need to keep the boat and the bag in position during the expansion phase. Maybe draping the bag over the yak might work better. Just a thought or 2.