: This question has been gnawing at me for the past week or so. Some recent
: posts have made estimates about weight gain when adding accents of heavier
: wood. I remeber a very informative post by Mike Loriz (I think I got the
: name right) from several years ago where he made a couple of kayaks out of
: a mixture of oak, walnut and cherry. I believe he used strips that were a
: "fat eighth" or 5/32 of an inch. His boats ended up weighing
: under 40lbs (if my memory is correct - I can't find the post).

Backpackers had the right idea when they said, "pay attention to the ounces
and the pounds will take care of themselves".

I spent a lot years carrying canoes and packs on portages in Northern
Ontario and wished my gear was lighter.

And a real eye opener for me was paddling a friend's light-weight glass whitewater canoe
which enabled me to eddy hop upstream!

Every racer knows the lightest boat takes the least energy to paddle and maneuver.

After that I've been obsessed with keeping the weight low without making the boat fragile.

This why I've been building with 3/16" thick strips for twenty years. I've been using 4 oz. S-glass for the last few years.

I've been surprised how few boat builders are focused on keeping the weight down.

Early glass coatings and techniques made a second layer of glass in reinforced stems and deck/hull joins visible.
Sheerclamps and laminated stems were designed to eliminate these unsightly glass seams, but added extra weight.

End pours can add weight. Instead, glue softwood plugs in the stems while fitting the deck and hull.

Pouring resin onto glass will float the glass on the pool of resin. If that resin is not quickly spread, excess resin will be
trapped under the glass and add weight. This a common problem inside the hull.

I've built boats with spruce and basswood hulls but these woods added about five pounds of extra weight that I cursed later.

I built a kayak with a mahogany deck for a client. That added 10 pounds.

Hardwood veneers, add beauty without much weight.

I've been disappointed at shows, when I tried out someone's new boat and the heavy weight made the boat feel like a tank. It's hard to feel the hull characteristics when the boat is heavy.

A very small amount of added weight at the stems can effect handling negatively.
Just like a small change in seat height can change stability.

It's easy to get carried away in the shop, with all the woods and things you CAN DO to your boat. I try to remember
how fantastic it is to paddle the lightest boat and pay attention to the details and every ounce.

Pay attention to every detail to reduce weight and your boat will be pounds lighter.

Rob

Now if I could only get that paddler lighter.