: I was wondering about Erics recommendation in the manual for 3" tape
: only on the interior and 4oz cloth on the outside. My experience has been
: that plywood only on the interior bottom panels allows for waterstaining
: cracks between the tape. Or at least on kayaks with very wide
: bottoms,,,the Merganser bottom panels aren't very wide and they have more
: v so it's not as much an issue as it would be in a Chesapeake aft
: compartment. Tape makes every thing go fast but once you start looking at
: tape AND cloth it starts making sense to use only cloth and cut strips as
: needed. None of these permutations are that significant in the big
: picture,,but they do keep one entertained with the possibilities.

My kit came with a roll of 6 oz. cloth, and the kit manual says to use 2 layers on the hull exterior IF extra protection from rocks is desired. (I bought the 4 oz. cloth locally when I decided to glass the interior, which the manual does not call for.)

Since I am starting to worry that the boat will end up weighing a lot, I am debating whether to use one 6 oz. layer on the hull and deck plus a "sacrificial tape" along the keel, instead of putting two 6 oz. layers on the hull. What did you do?

I also put 4 oz. glass on the bulkheads and the manual only said to seal them with epoxy. But I'd rather glass now than cut and fix later.