what Kurt said and...

Posted by Robert N Pruden on Oct 5, 2007

You can build just about any kayak lightly. The trade off often becomes less structural integrity. That means: the lighter you builds 'em, the less strong the construction becomes. Often, folks want a lighter kayak so they use a thinner fibreglass (which uses less epoxy) and they apply glass only on the outside of the kayak. This manner of construction is weaker (but still safe and effective) than using glass on both the inside and outside of the hull/deck. You can build a kayak with heavier wood (who'd want to) or less dense wood (as most builders do). The strength in a kayak is not the wood but from the wood/fibreglass composite construction. The glass provides most of the strength while the wood provides the shape and beauty.

All that said, based on what I have read over the years, the guys who build the strippers seem to end up with the lightest kayaks. I would suggest that you head over to the Guillemot site and post this question there. I am sure you will get an overwhelming response. In fact, I'm gonna go over there right now and ask it myself. (starts his car, it's a long drive to Conneticuitt <---is that spelled with two "T"s?)

Robert N Pruden

In Response to: Re: weight by Kurt Maurer on Oct 5, 2007

Replies:

• Connecticut by Mr. Spellcheck on Oct 6, 2007
  • In Texas... by Kurt Maurer on Oct 6, 2007
    • Yabut - there's them by Charlie Jones on Oct 7, 2007
      • Re: Yabut - there's them by Kurt Maurer on Oct 7, 2007