: First build? There's a compulsion to follow 'more is more' when it
: comes to applying epoxy. That'll add the ol' weight real fast,
: and.... the boat is no stronger. My first build weighed in at
: around 42# - my second was 30#. Guess which one gets used the
: most? Read Nicks, Robs and Vaclav's websites (among many
: others), they all promote the same thing - learn to squeegee the
: excess epoxy off. I do believe Uncle Nick even has a video, on
: this very website, demonstrating just how to do it. Lots of
: other 'tricks' - eliminate the internal stem, don't ever do an
: end-pour. In short, 'Less is more' are words to build by.

If you're serious about keeping weight down it is best to minimise epoxy and avoid glass altogether IMHO. That is easier to do on a plywood boat than with a stripper.

Rose Lee is slowly nearing completion after a year long delay. While she is about 50% stripped (ply bottom and sheerstrakes) she will not be glassed: I built her with laminated ribs to provide the cross-grain strength that a stripper normally gets from glass and epoxy. The scuppered gunnels add needed stifness.

I expect her to weigh less than 20#