Yo John

I sheathed my first guillemot s&g outside top and bottom and sheathed the entire inside floor and taped only the inside deck seams.

This is a fairly robust layup. I justified the inside floor because I was going to stash gear inside and I didn't want that to damage the inside. I also rightly figured quite alot of sand and grit would make its way onboard with feet.

I am presently nearing completion of my second s&g (they are for the kids) and have so far done the inside floor and inside taping stuff. The kayak is still quite alot lighter than the original finished sheathed guillemot s&g. So I am thinking of sheathing the outside bottom and maybe 'Nick Schade expedition lay up' a second layer of 6 oz at the waterline. This is basically an experiment to satisfy my curiosity as to how I am going to approach my next project (an expedition single).

I am thinking of just epoxy sealing the outside deck to keep weight down and maintain max epoxy/varnish good looks.

The permutations are endless. One comment though, is that my 4mm ply sheathed inside and outside is very stiff (hull). 4 mm ply sheathed on the outside only is moderately stiff, but flexes (deck). Not sheathed but epoxied sealed inside and out (deck of my british seagull racer) = flexible. So sheathing does make a difference.

hope this helps a little.

Cheers Pete