Hi,
I am shortly to start building a couple of kayaks for racing/training - an Australian-designed TK1 by David Payne, and the Guillemot Mystery. So I'm looking to keep the weight low (compared to my C17 that has been over-engineered as normal in a first-time build!) - partly by using light glass (it won't be getting beached or used in rough conditions with heavy loads, just lakes/rivers).

Another thought I had was vacuum-bagging the hull when 'glassing/epoxying it. Has anyone done this? Is it possible and how would/did you set it up?

My thought was to lay the glass down, epoxy, then cover with plastic sheeting that was taped to the strongback. This should squeeze out any excess epoxy and let it drop down to the strongback so it won't pool on the boat.

Any thoughts? I considered it as a friend has a new carbon-fibre kayak and when ordered, he could have gotten 2 - 3 kilograms (4-6lbs) weight reduction if they bagged it (but added $1000 to the cost!).

Thanks,
Darren
Melbourne, Australia