: The more I look at the deck of my Outer Island the more low spots I see. I'm
: afraid I will sand too thin. Will the epoxy and cloth fill in low spots?
: Will it show up after I wet out?

Low spots will not generally be filled in the glassing process.

You should level the surface with a long board ... I used 80 grit on my OI. If you use an ROS be carefull ... keep it movin' ... if ya don't ... you can get a wavy surface. I finish up with a little hand sanding.

If you think you're gonna sand the wood too thin ... think before you sand! I sometimes measure the approximate thickness of the wood. I stick a thin wire into a staple hole until it touches my finger tip (or a form) on the lower surface and note the upper surface using my finger nail. If I can't get my hand to the underside of the wire ... I reason out some other way to gauge the thickness. The wood is always thicker than I think it is.

The more you sand the more you risk opening up the glue joints.

This is one of those things where you just have to decide when enough's enough and go onto glassing.

BTW ... the OI rules! You'll love it in rough water!

Ken Blanton