: Last night I epoxied a strip of 9 oz. glass tape crossways on the inside of
: the deck, right in front of the rear hatch cutout. I also put one near the
: front hatch cutout, as well as one strip each across the hatch cover
: interiors. I want the deck to be strong enough to hold up to over-the-deck
: rescue practice. Just in case I have to do assisted rescue with a clumsy
: 200-pounder...I have seen 2 people actually kneel on top of their decks
: during screwed-up rescues; while theoretically nobody but me would be on
: MY rear deck, it's possible somebody could really screw up.

I put an extra layer under the deck just behind the cockpit for this same reason. It was really a wide piece of tape, maybe 10 or 12 inches. I don't exactly remember, but it was 7oz tape. I ran it across the back of the recess and it overlapped where the recess joined to the hull. Also my thigh braces come straight down from the cockpit coaming, i.e. the coaming strips just extend down, and it's all 'glassed together. On launch day I ended up with about 10 local children climbing all over the deck and even using the rear deck as a diving platform. Much to be said about not only the durability of the deck, but also the stability of my kayak!!! (Also much to be said about my patience with children. Gee whiz, where are these kids' parents????)

: Several questions: * Should I beef up the hatch lips before/during/after I
: install them? Or just follow the basic instructions? Seems like they could
: be a weak point.

: * Any thoughts on double-layering the 6 oz. exterior glass cloth JUST in the
: area between the rear of the coaming and the rear of the rear hatch? If I
: do this, I would glass the deck in two pieces: one from the bow to the
: rear of the rear hatch, and one from the rear of the coaming to the stern.
: The overlap would make a double layer in the area described.

Sounds like overkill to me. Just an extra strip under the deck should do the trick, unless you want to have more abrasion resistance. That's the main reason I did use an extra layer on the bottom of the hull.

: * The cockpit recess panel's "ears" (thigh brace mounts) have 2
: layers of 4 oz. glass on the underside. When the deck is glassed, there
: will be 1 layer of 6 oz. glass on the topside. Is this strong enough for
: rolling practice (I will add minicell padding for comfort and contouring)?
: I have seen some people's photos of wooden arch-like "kneehangs"
: and various contoured additions.

Iron clad!

: * My kayak's bow and stern bottoms are fairly sharp, as they were beveled
: prior to stitching etc. If I plane them down more, I'm afraid I'll end up
: with side-by-side panels. Should I build up layers of dookie schmutz and
: round those as best I can, or should I just add some kind of keel
: protection strip?

I built them up on the inside of the kayak just to make it rounder so that the cloth will fit better. It does give some extra strength as well, but it adds weight. Unfortunately I put WAY too much, and probably gained a pound. My kayak has a rub strip on the outside of the bow and stern. The stern one I planed to a vee, and that made it difficult to 'glass around. I had to slit the 'glass to go over the vee. The bow was no problem.