: I would think it depends on what type of S&G you are thinking about. I have a
: kayak made of 3mm plywood. It's sturdy because it's tortured ply and the
: all the panels are curved making it a stiff tubular unit. Don't know if I
: would try making a normal S&G configuration from 3mm ply.

Starting with the 3 mm thickness comment. That is the thickness of my tortured kayak that I've paddled for nearly a decade and is the same thickness as my latest "flat-panel" S&G kayak which I suspect will be the one I'll paddle for the next decade. None of my kayaks have glass covering the panels - only on the seams.

As for a transparent kayak, I paddled one of the Fistlight folding kayak prototypes. There was an apology that it was transparent and I was told production units would not be transparent. I suggested that it was a very good idea and it should be offered as an option. Within 6 months I noted an advertisement for the Hawaian kayak (is it actually made by Firstlight?). It does need to be paddled without a sprayskirt to get the "effect" and it can be a little freaky if you paddle over the edge of a reef, from shallow to deep water - like "What is keeping me up?"

Alex