: There can be some variables to think about. What sort of lay-up do
: you need? Expedition rock-basher tough, race-worthy
: featherlight, somewhere in between?

... ... ... .. .

: I'm a certified OCD case for ultra light weight results, live in a
: rock-free zone (near Galveston -- crude oil free zone as well,
: SIGH), and can get away with lighter lay-ups, like for my boats
: to come in at around 35 lbs. I have found that 3/16" thick
: strips is a poor economy; too much strength is sacrificed. Rob
: Macks likes 3/16" thick strips, and I trust him to
: absolutely no end, so will have to write it off to "your
: mileage may vary". I find a full 1/4" too much,
: however, so use something like .22"? I use a TLAR
: instrument to determine precise thickness. Also called the human
: eyeball, it stands for That Looks About Right.

.. ... ... ... .

You are quite right about different people having different needs because of what they expect to do with their kayaks.

However, I'm not sure that the strength sacrificed by going down to 3/16" is a big problem for a lot of situations.

The graphs of the results of some comparative tests, suggest that in some cases at least, the reduction in strength is marginal.

http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/Testing/index.html

I was looking in particular at the 4 oz with 1/4 and 3/16. I guess it depends a bit on how big you want your safety margin to be.