Extra weight usually comes from excessive epoxy. The ideal is about a 60/40 glass/resin ratio. Many builders end up with more epoxy and less glass, which adds weight. Precoating the wood before glassing can also add excess weight if not optimally done. Too much resin to fill the weave and fair the hull also adds weight. Another big culprit is fat fillets combined with an epoxy-rich putty mix.

It's basically a practice thing. The more epoxy work you do, the better you get at it and the lighter (and cheaper) your boats get.

One final possibility is the wood. Some lots of wood are heavier than others, even though they're the same species.

Laszlo

We've built at least a dozen of them in-house and had some 32-pound stock models, but 45 is a lot!  

Epoxy is the biggest variable.  In feedback from a couple hundred Kaholos, the ones with a lot of epoxy pooled in the inside bottom are the ones that are heavy.  Larry Froley uses toilet paper to mop up excess epoxy in the interior.  I'm still not sure how to accumulate an extra 15 pounds, though.  

The density of the plywood and timber used and the weight of the fiberglass are big variables, too.  Decorative fabrics can add a minimum of a pound or two, up to several pounds depending on the weight of the cloth and care of installation.

We've just built three cedar-strip-topped Kaholos, and those DID come out five or six pounds heavy according to our digital scale.  I think the cedar soaks up a lot of epoxy.  Not sure they can be made any lighter that way. 

In the end, 45lbs is no disaster.  The very first wooden longboard by Tom Blake weighed 100lbs!

I just put mine in the water - came in at 31 to 32#.  I was very careful to mop up extra epoxy and keep the fillets small.  I even wentso far as to drill out the bulkheads a bit and shave off the sheer clamps.  I did add a fin box and leash plug and sup handle. The stock fin I have on there is heavy by half a pound or so.  Overall, very happy with the build and the way it paddles - more to come as Summer approaches!

Oh yeah - replaced the breather tube with a cut down top off of a sports drink bottle - works quite well and looks cool - at least that's what I think!

Paul

Paul.   Can you post photo of this sports drink bottle top idea?   Would like to see that.

I'd be happy to, but I can't figure out how to add pics.  I don't have them on a website anywhare and don't plan to.  Is there another way - similar to other sites I'm on?

Maybe just provide a link to anywhere you have the pics pulled up to?

I have some pics posted on this forum:

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=15693.0

-Paul