Hi,

I was just thinking about how we use wood as the filler between two layers of epoxy/glass, whereas racing kayaks tend to just be thicker glass (or kevlar or carbon fibre)covered in gelcoat, and so are really just a 'glass shell made in or over a mould. Stiffness coming from heavier glass rather than composite like strip/S&G.

Then I wondered about making a kayak off another one. If exact dimensions weren't important (except the new one would be a small percentage bigger), would it be possible to cover an existing kayak with plastic wrap and then drape 'glass cloth over the hull and epoxy? Then do the same with the deck, cut out cockpit, etc and then join with 'glass tape? Then paint with gelcoat and viola, a close duplicate.

Kind of like using the kayak as a male mould rather than building one in a female mould. Obviously a heavier glass would be needed to have stiffness, maybe with bulkheads and some other details.

I'm not interested in copyright discussions about copying the hull - there's enough of those already! :-) - but just curious if anyone's done this or if it would work?

Call it late-night kayak-builder's curiosity :-)

Thanks,
Darren
Melbourne, Australia