: 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

Darren,

If the David Payne is a hard chine and you are using 100 gpsm glass, I would be surprised if you could do much better than spreading the resin on with a squeegee for grouting tiles. The surfboard manufactures use them. They are brilliant on flat surfaces or simple curves and a 150 mm one costs about $5. They are brilliant at squeezing out excess resin and spreading it. With thin glass if you let the resin gel it will not clear.
Brian:
Brisbane, Australia,