If the wood at your seam gets a bit thin, you might compensate by adding a bit of extra glass on the inside of the seam. You could also, before planing the joint fair on the outside, add some extra wood on the inside to increase the thickness. Extra thickness of wood will add strength more efficiently than extra glass on very thin wood will. As long as the original outside strips are not planed all the way through, the extra wood on the inside will be an invisible fix (at least from the outside). You can taper the inside wood down to nothing outside the area where the extra wood is required, and put a layer or two of glass over it to tie in the structural contribution.

If your strips are only 3/16" thick, there will not be much left after you remove 1/8". If they are 1/4", perhaps extra glass will do the job. In any case, with care, your oversight should have no significant effect on the fine kayak you will end up with.

Good luck,

Allan Edie

: Hi Charles,

: Planing or sanding the deck edges is no big deal, will work fine.

: Bill H.