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[Paddlewise] Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:53:08 -0800
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I wrote:Most lightweight wood kayaks have a single layer of fiberglass on the
outsideof the hull and just varnish on the inside. The fiberglass adds a
waterproofabrasion resistant layer but most of the strength and rigidity is in
the wood.Putting a single fiberglass layer both the inside and outside of the
wood coremakes the wood kayak as heavy as a similar sized fiberglass kayakTony
wrote:>>>>>>Sorry Matt, this is not true at all.  First, I know of no one who
builds strip built kayaks and does not glass the inside.   I have built 2 of
Nick Shades designs, a Guillemot, 6 oz glass on inside and out. 4 oz carbon
fiber in the cockpit and it came in at 37 pounds.  I also built his Great Auk,
but modified the deck a bit, glass schedule same as the guillemot, weight is
39 pounds.  This is a big, high vol sea kayak at less than 40 pounds.  The
third kayak I built was Tom Yost's Sea Ranger stripper.  It was the first one
built and was glassed the same as the others.  Weight, 33 pounds.  it is an
extremely low volume hard chined kayak that is perfect for rolling, is fast
and maneuverable.  The technique to building a light kayak is to use the right
amount of epoxy.  More is not 'better', only heavier.......<<<<<<<<<<<  I was
thinking of plywood kayaks when I wrote the above, but that doesn't change the
reality of the statement much because I think there are a lot more plywood
kayak kits built than wood strippers. I suspect that a stripper is far more in
need of that inside layer than a plywood kayak, as well. My point was that you
get lightweight by making some sacrifice no matter what materials you use.
I agree that using minimal epoxy is the way to go, however most first time
builders can not get nearly as light a kayak as an experienced builder can.
Many even have to buy more epoxy because the kit they bought had enough for an
experienced builder but not enough for them.

You could make an even lighter kayak by using balsa wood strips or foam strips
but I think you would find several problems due to that materials strength and
compressability unless you made the glass skinning a lot heavier (and
therefore making it more of the structural strength). There are fiberglass
kayaks in the weight ranges you list but I suspect they might not be as
durable where stiffness is desirable (against folding) than a wood cedar strip
kayak of the same size (but might do better at taking a hard concentrated
blow). Who sells the Sea Ranger plans (or makes them)? Are they only wood
kayaks? Maybe it is relatively new, I can't find it in my extensive single
kayaks database. I'd like to add it. Can you tell me the length, width, inside
cockpit length width and inside depth below the front of the cockpit?
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