Re: Mill Creek 13

Posted by LeeG on Aug 21, 2004

The 36lbs was without deck glass, seat and the most efficient construction possible,,and then maybe less another lb. The stripped weights reflect minimal epoxy seal coats,,and the boat will look it with heavy use as there's a direct correlation between thickness of epoxy and resistance to waterstaining. In thin ply where flexing is possible simply slathering on epoxy won't provide the same level of weathering/waterstain resistance as would occur on a 1" thick piece of rub rail so there's a slight contradiction in using thin light ply then having to put on multiple coats or 4oz glass for similar resistance to waterstaining as one would get with thick wood. There's no free lunch.

So if you're not concerned about the deck looking nice under 5 coats of varnish AND rough use then eliminate deck glass,or the rough use. The basic technique of laying down thick fillets and 9oz tape as shown in some of the original shop notes or The Kayak Shop Book isn't very efficient but it's fast. The problem with going to all this effort to shave off ounces is that it's counter to the back yard building ethos of "goop it and tape it" The original MC16 is described as having some low weight in the book,,and it had a 3mm deck that was repaired three times before being replaced with a glassed 4mm one.

In Response to: Re: Mill Creek 13 by JRM on Aug 20, 2004

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