: I'm building a Guillemot for my wife. I want to keep it light so she'll be
: able to lift it atop her Honda CRV. For that reason, I didn't put a second
: layer of glass on the "football". I don't think she's going to
: be paddling in many extreme situations, so I think it'll be all right.

: I want to know some strength vs. weight considerations regarding filling the
: weave on the glass on the inside of the boat. It won't show, so I don't
: need to put on extra coats of epoxy to get that shiny, smooth effect.
: However, if I just put on one coat of epoxy when I wet out the glass, will
: that sacrifice any strength?

: How about if I just fill the weave in the cockpit area? Any reason to? Any
: reason not to?

: I want the boat light, but also strong enough to last. I'm also a bit
: concerned about strength because I had a lot of imperfections to sand
: away. I'm worried that I did so much sanding to get the surface fair that
: the skin of the boat is no longer 1/4" thick.

Gordon,

It is a good idea to put down one good coat of epoxy after glassing the inside. There is no need to fill the weave, but put on a good coat. As the others have mentioned, the additional epoxy is not for strength but to increase the resistance to water/staining - especially if one has done good squegee work and used an open weave glass.

Sam