Bryan, I agree with all you are saying. Fortunately for me I live near a great custom builder and got to design my own and it was built with ballistics materials and epoxy resin. Sub 30 lbs and that is with the hatches which the industry for some reason doesn't count when they give you the weight of their kayaks.
Check this. It will be completed today and on the Skook wave tomorrow afternoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBkiZpjxM7U

Best,

Reg

: I've been paddling composite boats alongside my cedar kayaks for
: years, and for the most part I've had good composite boats,
: until my most recent one. Even though it's considered a high-end
: composite, it flexes when going over waves, the rear deck
: collapses due to air pressure, the gel coat cracked in what
: looks like a stress riser damage at all the bulkheads (the front
: one is vented so it can't be air pressure), the cockpit was put
: on lopsided, the seat was put in at an angle and in the wrong
: position, a 3-foot section near the bilge spider cracked in a
: massive web (I think from just sitting my roof rack -- I don't
: over-tighten the straps if you're thinking that), the
: carbonfiber seat cracked in the first couple of months, plus it
: wasn't wet-out correctly (still dry fabric in places), the skeg
: box cracked, the fiberglass around the skeg box is chipping
: away, the layup job on the bulkheads looks like a first grader
: did it, the seams look slightly dry and not wet-out completely,
: the fittings let the bungee cords slip out through their sides,
: the skeg control hits my knee, and I could go on. For a $3,800
: boat, you'd think it'd be perfect, but, of course, the
: manufacturer doesn't want to take any responsibility. They don't
: believe that they have a persistent problem with quality
: control.

: With a wooden kayak, I know that anything that's wrong with it is
: my fault, and I can fix it. They're way easier to fix than
: dealing with gel coat. The hulls are stiff and feel more
: responsive. They're lighter than a fiberglass boat. With the
: right layup, they take a beating. Stress riser damage is pretty
: much non-existent, the decks don't flex with changes in
: pressure, and since you build the cockpit and seat, you don't
: put this in like you didn't care. You can make the skeg box out
: of something that isn't breakable plastic. You can tweak all the
: fittings to suit your needs. You can build your own design. An
: expensive strip boat runs only about $1,000, so I can go through
: four for about the same price. And that's just the start of
: everything good about strip boats.

: It just seems to me that strip kayaks tend to be superior then some
: brands of composite boats.

: Yep, that's why I like cedar-strip kayaks. You?